Imagine a computer that could design new life-saving drugs or revolutionize energy storage, not in decades, but in a matter of hours. This isn’t science fiction, but the tangible goal driving the pioneers of quantum computing. Jacob Goldstein sits down with Ben Bloom, CEO of Atom Computing, to explore the immense potential and formidable challenges of building a genuinely useful quantum machine. Bloom compares the current state of the field to where AI was ten or fifteen years ago—a technology brimming with transformative promise but still grappling with fundamental engineering hurdles.

The conversation delves into the core problem: quantum computers are incredibly fragile. Their basic units of information, qubits, are prone to errors and lose their quantum state—a phenomenon called decoherence—extremely easily. Bloom’s company takes a distinctive approach by using individual neutral atoms, trapped by lasers in a vacuum, as their qubits. He explains that this method offers a promising path to scalability and stability compared to other systems that require near-absolute-zero temperatures. The ultimate benchmark is moving from running isolated experiments to achieving “quantum advantage,” where a quantum computer reliably solves a real-world problem faster or more efficiently than any classical supercomputer could.

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the practical journey from lab curiosity to commercial utility. Bloom outlines a business model similar to early supercomputing or cloud services, where access to quantum power is sold as a service to researchers and corporations. He emphasizes that the first useful applications won’t be for consumers, but for industries like pharmaceuticals and materials science, where simulating molecular interactions is currently prohibitively slow. The path forward is framed as a marathon of iterative engineering, error correction, and software development to finally harness the bizarre laws of quantum mechanics for practical computation.

Surprising Insights

• Energy Efficiency as a Killer App: Beyond raw speed, a major advantage of quantum computers could be drastically reduced energy consumption for specific, complex calculations compared to today’s power-hungry supercomputers.
• Stability from Neutrality: Using neutral atoms as qubits, as opposed to charged ions or superconducting loops, can make them less “noisy” and more stable, which is a counterintuitive advantage in the delicate quantum world.
• The Room-Temperature (ish) Frontier: While most quantum systems require cryogenics near absolute zero, some neutral atom approaches can operate at much warmer temperatures (though still cold by human standards), simplifying engineering challenges.
• Near-Term Usefulness: The first commercially valuable applications are likely to be highly specific optimization and simulation problems for enterprises, not general-purpose computing for everyday tasks.

Practical Takeaways

• Think in Terms of Access: For most businesses and researchers, engaging with quantum computing will mean accessing it as a cloud service, not purchasing and maintaining your own machine.
• Focus on Simulation: Industries that rely on modeling complex molecular structures—like drug discovery, battery development, and chemical engineering—should monitor quantum advancements closely, as they will likely benefit first.
• Partner for Exploration: Companies interested in the technology’s potential can start by partnering with quantum firms on specific research problems to gain early experience and understand its limitations and capabilities.
• Separate Hype from Reality: Understand that while progress is rapid, useful quantum advantage for broad applications is still on the horizon; focus on the incremental engineering milestones being achieved.