Google reveals a new quantum computing chip that it said was a breakthrough that could bring practical quantum computing closer to reality.

According to Google Quantum AI founder Hartmut Neven, a custom chip called ‘Willow’ does in minutes what it would take leading supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete.

“Written out, there is a 1 with 25 zeros. A mind-boggling number,” says Hartmut.

Hartmut team of about 300 people at Google is on a mission to build quantum computing capable of handling otherwise unsolvable problems like safe fusion power and stopping climate change.

“We see Willow as an important step in our journey to build a useful quantum computer with practical applications in areas like drug discovery, fusion energy, battery design, and more," says Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Although it will take years for a quantum computer to solve these problems, Neven and his team say Willow is a big step in that direction.

Superfast quantum computing is still in its infancy, but scientists think it will someday spur innovation across various industries.

Both China and the United States have been making significant investments in quantum research, which is regarded as a crucial sector. Washington has also imposed limits on the export of the delicate technology.

In October, independent quantum technology specialist Olivier Ezratty told AFP that over the previous five years, public and commercial investment in the subject has reached almost $20 billion globally.

Ordinary computers operate in a binary form, utilizing bits—tiny data chunks that are always stated as either 1 or 0—to complete operations.

However, qubits—fragments of data that can be both 1 and 0 at the same time—allow quantum computers to process a vast number of possible outcomes at once.