Thinking On Paper: A Technology Podcast For Curious Minds Inside IBM’s $30 Billion Bet: Why Quantum Computing Gets Real with Starling
Jun 17, 2025
Oliver Dial, CTO of IBM Quantum, delves into the groundbreaking advancements of the Starling quantum chip. With a rich background in condensed matter physics, he explains how IBM's focus on fault-tolerance is set to revolutionize quantum computing. The conversation highlights the shift from raw qubit counts to scalable reliability, aiming for a 1:1000 logical-to-physical qubit ratio by 2029. Dial also discusses the synergy between quantum and classical computing, making complex ideas accessible and exciting for everyone curious about the future of technology.
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Quantum Computing's Exponential Edge
- Quantum computers solve problems that become exponentially harder for classical computers as they grow in size.
- This unique ability justifies the significant investments despite current quantum computers being slow and error-prone.
Fault Tolerance Is Quantum Leap
- Fault tolerance corrects quantum errors in real-time, unlike error mitigation which fixes errors after computation.
- This real-time correction enables much larger and more reliable quantum computations.
Hybrid Quantum-Classical Computing Model
- Quantum computing requires a hybrid approach combining quantum and classical computers.
- Classical computers handle what they can, reserving quantum computers for uniquely quantum tasks to optimize performance.