https://www.hpcwire.com/2017/05/18/ibm-d-wave-report-quantum-computing-advances/
IBM said this week it has built and tested a pair of quantum computing processors, including a prototype of a commercial version. That progress follows an announcement earlier this week that commercial quantum computer developer D-Wave Systems has garnered venture funding that could total up to $50 million to build it next-generation machine with up to 2,000 qubits.
[...] Meanwhile, IBM researchers continue to push the boundaries of quantum computing as part of its IBM Q initiative launched in March to promote development of a "universal" quantum computer. Access to a 16-qubit processor via the IBM cloud would allow developers and researchers to run quantum algorithms. The new version replaces an earlier 5-qubit processor.
The company also rolled on Wednesday (May 17) the first prototype of a 17-qubit commercial processor, making it IBM's most powerful quantum device. The prototype will serve as the foundation of IBM Q's commercial access program. The goal is to eventually scale future prototypes to 50 or more qubits.
The article also notes Hewlett Packard Enterprise's prototype of "The Machine", with 160 terabytes of RAM.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday May 21 2017, @11:54PM
Second, IBM would be throwing away some big businesses already. While everything can be sold with more advanced security algorithms (which is one of the few niches that QC might work in), there isn't that compelling a need to make something more secure. I'm just not seeing how QC will help that much with IBM's typical service-oriented businesses.