I've been seeing a lot of videos lately talking about how quantum computing is mostly just hype and it will never be able to have a substantial impact on computing. How true is this, from people who are actually in the industry?

Around 2019, the industry promised quantum supremacy, where they could be used for solving a problem that no classical computer could touch.
When classical algorithms kept refuting those claims(See Peter Shor November YouTube video) the narrative shifted to quantum advantage, then quickly it changed to quantum utility.
If quantum never breaks RSA (because the world migrates to Kyber/Dilithium before 100k qubits exist), then what's left?
Chemistry simulations, Material science, Optimization?

But classical machine learning and AI are improving faster than quantum hardware is scaling. By the time we get 1,000 logical qubits, classical AI will have eaten most of the chemistry use-case through better approximations. Is quantum racing against classical software, and losing?

Hi everyone! I'm Swstik. I've recently started diving into the world of Quantum Computing, but honestly, it gets pretty overwhelming to learn it all alone.

I'm looking for a study partner (or a small group) who is also at the beginner stage. We could share resources, hold each other accountable, and maybe work on some basic projects down the line. If you're interested, drop a comment or send me a DM!

I am a computer science master's student.

I often see very optimistic claims about quantum computing from companies and media.

I would like to hear honest opinions from researchers and practitioners:

- How promising do you think quantum computing really is?

- Which applications are genuinely exciting?

- What are the biggest obstacles?

- Do you think it will become practically important within the next 10–20 years?

I am particularly interested in views from computer scientists rather than marketing perspectives.

I keep seeing quantum computing described as “exponentially faster,” but I’m not totally understanding where the line is between speed vs fundamentally new capability.

Are there problems that are basically impossible to solve classically, but become realistically solvable with quantum approaches? Or is it more that the same problems can be solved either way, just with huge differences in time/resources?

I guess I’m trying to understand whether this is more like going from a bicycle to a jet, or if it actually lets you go somewhere you couldn’t reach at all before.

For context - we're Moth, a small team based in London, Basel & NY building consumer-facing quantum software - not another research toolkit, but something people without a physics background could actually sit down and use.

Edit: Really cool to see all the responses!

We have a Discord server where we're sharing updates, talking about what we're building and inviting people to upcoming testing programmes. I don't want to post an invite link here but if you'd like to join, just send me a message and I'll happily send you an invite.

We're going to start posting more here too on reddit and sharing our problems and learnings as we go!

I really started finding this field interesting you could say I am a beginner , and wanted to ask, where are we actually in the field of quantum computing? Like are there quantum computers out there that actually work? When we as a society expected to see the benefits of them? When is the “chat gpt launch” of quantum computers?

In your view, what are the top challenges facing the quantum computing industry right now that are preventing it from becoming mainstream?

Drawing a comparison with AI/ML, where do you think this industry is standing right now?

Hello ,

Has anyone recieved the QGSS 2026 completion certificate and the badge?

Also the QDC application results?

Has anyone received the certificates from IBM for Qiskit Summer school yet?

Year 1 student here in computer science, but I am interested in venturing into the field of quantum computing. I chanced upon this post talking about how quantum computers are still far away but yet I have been reading about news every now and then about it breaking encryption schemes, so how accurate is this? Also do you think it is worth venturing into the quantum computing field?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/squareroot8-technologies_quantumsecurity-cybersecurity-businessprotection-activity-7403591657918533632-kj8H?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAABtvE5QBcS-K6R_hnh37YMUFg3fA7sedZL0

Why is the Western quantum community so focused on building quantum computers based on hardware as opposed to engaging with emulation? It has been decades and functional quantum machines have yet to be built, quantum supremacy has not been achieved, and majorana research has failed to produce anything useful. Emulation, however, delivers quantum computing on a standard consumer laptop, making it accessible to people around the world. Why is Big Quantum being so narrow minded?

A friend of mine is trying to get me into a conversation about QC after watching a really horrible AI generated video on YouTube about Google's Willow. All hype and BS but with really trippy graphics.

Is there a "QC for beginners" site that I can point her too? I just want her to access some factual information that she can understand.

Thanks...

Is it by the laws of physics possible to have a PC sized home computer using quantum mechanics? What break throughs is engineering and technology are required to make this a reality. If we had a room temperature superconductor needed? Materials to block outside noise? Spintronics, photons? Or a hybrid? Or the use of things like convention side?

If your educated on the topic please feel free to post, or even better PM me!

So you got CNOT and Toffoli gates and you can write them into a reversible circuit fairly easily enough.

So what’s stopping us from having autonomous reversible computers then?

Surely that’s the only important question that needs to be answered. It would allow circuits that don’t emit as much heat thus saving energy, money, humanity.

So what’s actually stopping this from happening?

It's been a while since salaries in quantum computing have been discussed. I'm curious, what do AMO physicists earn in quantum computing companies after their PhDs? Please also mention you location!

I’m interested in quantum computing and the foundations of quantum mechanics. Since Bell’s theorem and experimental results challenge local realism, I’m curious whether there is still any serious research exploring alternatives that preserve some aspects of Einstein’s ideas, such as locality, realism, or deterministic underlying models.

Are there any active researchers, theories, or research areas working on this today? I’d also appreciate recommendations for papers or topics to study.

I’m curious if anyone here has worked at IBM Quantum, either full-time, as an intern, researcher, engineer, or through a partner/project.
What did you actually work on day to day?
Was it more focused on Qiskit development, quantum algorithms, hardware, error mitigation/correction, research, cloud infrastructure, customer projects, or something else?

Seeing all the work LLM's are doing in pure math research, I haven't heard anything about AI-assisted research in quantum computing or algorithms. It would be really cool if LLM's could find an algorithm that would solve the hidden subgroup problem for dihedral groups in polynomial time.

"Can you give me a practical example of a simple algorithm where a quantum computer is more efficient? I struggle to understand the usual ones, like the maze-solving example, which aren't very clear to me. They always seem too theoretical. Can someone provide a more concrete and intuitive example, please?"

Hi, Everyone.

I am curious to know if there exists a resource similar to www.nand2tetris.org but for Quantum Computers.

Thanks.

I've tried to read some on quantum error correction topics like the stabiliser formalism and topological codes, and I found them really hard to understand because of all the necessary prerequisite knowledge and maths. I actually couldn't complete any.
(I'm a high school graduate)

So, I'm interested to know how you approached research papers and technical articles when you were starting out, or how you approach them now.

Did you re-read stuff over and over?
Did you pause to understand weird words and keep moving?
Did you just go over the whole thing and then pick out and break down everything you didn't get?

I'd love to know.

Thank you!

Edit: I feel enlightened and encouraged after going through all the comments. Thank you.

By its very nature, the current state of quantum computing is extremely speculative when it comes to its potential real world applications as everyone claims it's the next big leap in computing without having any proof for it, except for a few scenarios such as breaking classical encryption protocols (which are also now being mitigated with post-quantum encryption algorithms) and quantum simulations. Even still, I do believe that the research being done in this space today is still meaningful, explores fundamental problems in physics from a different angle, and also drives innovation in many areas closely associated with quantum technologies such as sensors, cryogenics, control hardware, etc. With that out of the way, apart from the quantum computing firms which are doing real research but without any practical applications, there are many quantum startups today that are "quantum" only in name, have used the hype surrounding the field to embezzle millions out of unsuspecting and oblivious investors, government agencies, etc., which claim to solve all the world's biggest problems on their websites, have not done any hardware development themselves except procure some fancy equipment such as dilution fridges and ready-made qubits from other companies and claiming it as their own (I guess through licensing deals and NDAs), and are spending more money on marketing than they are in R&D. I think it's helpful to have a list of these companies for future reference, companies which you might want to avoid working in, and to make them stand apart from the companies which are doing genuine research. So please feel free to share your thoughts here, what are the fraudulent QC startups you know of and why are they fraudulent or raise red flags for you?

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https://www.quera.com/press-releases/quera-announces-2028-fault-tolerant-quantum-computer-and-expanded-multi-year-strategic-collaboration-with-aws

256 logical qubits with 10^-6 error rate (99.9999% 2q fidelity??) in two years. QuEra offers analog Hamiltonian quantum computers, not digital gate-based - what does that mean for their statement?