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Quantum computing could introduce an entirely new wave of innovation, but it will need a simpler interface to truly hit its inflection point.
The 7investing Key Takeaway
Imagine a computer more powerful than NVIDIA’s GPUs, more trustable than GPT’s conversational agents, and easier to use than Google’s search prompt.
This is the promise of quantum computing, which could serve as the necessary key to unlock a new wave of innovation. From satellite collision avoidance systems to fusion power design to perfectly-personalized cancer treatments, the world’s most complex problems could suddenly become within our reach of solving.
Quantum is not just an iterative improvement for computing. This is a revolutionary step-change that will introduce an entirely new technology.
And Strangeworks co-founder and CEO whurley knows that new technologies will need a simple interface to truly catch on with users.
“What I track is how many people in the enterprise are playing around with frameworks and toolkits and [quantum] computers. When I left Goldman Sachs to start Strangeworks, there were only a couple people working on quantum. Now there are entire teams and a considerable group of very talented people who are working on the applications. There is plenty of appetite for faster compute in all of these industries.
Quantum computing is going to be just like the internet. Once people show something demonstrable that has a big return on investment, we’re going to hit the inflection point.”
Interview Description and Investing Insights
From R&D at Apple to an inventor at IBM to founding startups in cybersecurity and fintech lending, whurley knows a thing or two about innovation. As the founder & CEO of Strangeworks, he’s developing a software interface to help companies define their business problems and then harness quantum computers to solve them.
I last interviewed whurley in 2021, right in the middle of the now-notorious “SPAC Summer.” Startups were raising billions of dollars based upon the promise of ‘hockey stick’ future projections. As an innovative field that held seemingly infinite promise, quantum computing found itself in the middle of this buying frenzy as well.
Yet while whurley recognized there was plenty of infrastructure and computing innovation taking place, something very important was still missing. Quantum wasn’t going to truly hit its stride unless it became simple for anyone to actually use.
That makes a lot of sense. Apple’s iPad can be navigated by toddlers. Google’s core business is a search prompt. OpenAI’s flagship product is a text-based chatbot.
Even if quantum computers can be more powerful than NVIDIA’s GPUs or more trustable than GPT’s AI agents, they still still need a simpler interface for the magic to truly happen.
I would encourage forward-thinking investors to think along these same lines. Don’t just go looking for more qubits or fewer hallucinations. The companies who are building full-stack ecosystems and are winning in customer engagement are the most likely to succeed in this revolutionary new quantum space.
What’s great about our business is we’re building an infrastructure layer that the users and all the hardware providers can can play on. It’s amazing to see and it’s come a long way since we talked three years ago.
But we’re still focused on the wrong goals. People are still trying to patent algorithms. Which is a bad idea; you shouldn’t patent math. You could patent the circuits and everyone’s trying to build communities of large users.
But really what we want is the time on these machines being booked.
7investing founder Simon Erickson originally published this interview with whurley for the 7investing podcast on August 26, 2021.
Media
See the original publication here. Learn more about Strangeworks here. Buy “Quantum Computing for Babies” here.
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