Context: Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Ocelot, its first-generation quantum computing chip, as it enters the race against fellow tech giants in harnessing the experimental technology.

Background:

• Quantum research is seen as a critical emerging field, and both the United States and China have been investing heavily in the area, with Washington also placing restrictions on exports of the sensitive technology.

Key takeaways

• Ocelot is a nine-qubit chip that has been internally fabricated by Amazon.
• Amazon’s announcement comes a week after rival Microsoft introduced its own quantum computing chip ‘Majorana 1’ .

Key Features of Ocelot:

• Error Correction Efficiency: Ocelot is designed to address one of the primary challenges in quantum computing—error correction. Utilizing “cat qubits,” the chip intrinsically suppresses certain types of errors, potentially reducing the resources required for error correction by up to 90% compared to traditional methods. 
• Scalability: The chip’s architecture is designed to be scalable, allowing for the development of practical, fault-tolerant quantum computers. AWS believes that this approach could accelerate the timeline to a practical quantum computer by up to five years.

Source: The Guardian