Quantum VC says materials simulation will lead early applications

Helmut Katzgraber, general partner at quantum VC firm 55North and former AWS quantum lead, says quantum computers will find their first real-world use in simulating materials, chemicals, and pharma—not in optimization problems. Katzgraber pointed to recent successes with materials simulation on quantum hardware as the most promising near-term application. He discussed this perspective in an interview with The Quantum Insider.

• Materials simulation likely earliest real-world quantum use case
• Optimization problems less suited to near-term quantum
• Recent experiments simulated materials on quantum devices
• Katzgraber is a former AWS quantum lead, now at VC 55North