Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks have stepped up their research into quantum computing, signalling growing confidence that recent breakthroughs in the field have laid the foundation for the first practical applications of the revolutionary new computing technology.
Paul Burchard, a senior researcher at Goldman Sachs, said the bank increased its five-year-old research effort last year after seeing hardware advances that suggested the technology was on the brink of a rapid acceleration. “We think there’s a possibility this becomes a critical technology,” Mr Burchard said.
Banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, which 18 months ago took its first small stake in a quantum computing company, echo that view. The potential for the technology to revolutionise activities like risk management and trading are so great that banks need to start learning how to harness it now, said William Hartnett, a managing director at Citi.