History

Quantum Computing Timeline

From Shor's algorithm in 1994 to Google Willow, NIST PQC standards, and Majorana 1. Every SDK, hardware milestone, and breakthrough that shaped the field.

Quantum computing hardware blueprint representing the history and timeline of the field

  1. Algorithm AT&T Bell Labs

    Shor's Algorithm

    Peter Shor publishes a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for integer factorization. The paper that made quantum computing a security priority.

  2. Algorithm Bell Labs

    Grover's Algorithm

    Lov Grover publishes a quantum algorithm for unstructured search with quadratic speedup. Demonstrates quantum advantage is possible beyond factoring.

  3. Hardware Oxford / MIT

    First Quantum Algorithms Run on Hardware

    First 2-qubit quantum computation on NMR hardware. Deutsch-Jozsa and Grover's algorithms run on physical hardware for the first time.

  4. SDK / Language Academic

    QCL: Early Quantum Programming Language

    Bernhard Omer releases QCL (Quantum Computation Language), one of the first high-level quantum programming languages. Not widely adopted but influential on later designs.

  5. Platform IBM

    IBM Quantum Experience

    IBM puts a 5-qubit quantum computer online for public access. First time anyone could run circuits on real hardware without a lab. Sparks an explosion of quantum programming interest.

  6. SDK / Language IBM Research

    OpenQASM 2.0

    IBM publishes the Open Quantum Assembly Language specification - a low-level circuit description format. Becomes the interchange standard for gate-model circuits.

  7. SDK / Language IBM / Rigetti

    Qiskit 0.1 + PyQuil 1.0

    IBM releases Qiskit, the first major open-source quantum SDK. Rigetti releases PyQuil and the Quil assembly language simultaneously. The quantum SDK era begins.

  8. SDK / Language ETH Zurich

    ProjectQ

    ETH Zurich researchers release ProjectQ, a Python framework emphasizing compilation to hardware-native gate sets. Used in research for circuit optimization studies.

  9. SDK / Language Google Quantum AI

    Google Cirq

    Google releases Cirq, designed specifically for near-term quantum hardware with precise control over qubit placement and gate timing. Later used to program its Sycamore processor.

  10. SDK / Language Microsoft

    Microsoft Q#

    Microsoft releases Q#, a domain-specific language for quantum algorithms integrated with .NET and Visual Studio. Unique focus on adjoint/controlled operation semantics.

  11. SDK / Language Xanadu

    Strawberry Fields

    Xanadu releases Strawberry Fields for photonic quantum computing - the first production SDK for continuous-variable quantum systems.

  12. SDK / Language Cambridge Quantum Computing

    tket (CQC)

    Cambridge Quantum Computing releases tket (later pytket), a high-performance compiler that targets multiple hardware backends. First hardware-agnostic compiler toolkit.

  13. SDK / Language Xanadu

    PennyLane 0.1

    Xanadu releases PennyLane, the first framework designed for differentiable quantum computing and quantum machine learning. Circuits become trainable functions.

  14. Milestone Google

    Google Quantum Advantage (Sycamore)

    Google claims quantum computational advantage: their 53-qubit Sycamore processor completes a random circuit sampling task in 200 seconds vs estimated 10,000 years classically.

  15. Platform Amazon Web Services

    Amazon Braket (Preview)

    AWS announces Braket - a managed quantum computing service with access to hardware from IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave. Enters public preview.

  16. SDK / Language IBM + Community

    OpenQASM 3.0

    Major revision to the quantum assembly standard, first published as a draft specification in 2020 and finalized in 2021. Adds classical control flow, real-time feedback, timing control, and subroutines - enabling dynamic circuits.

  17. Platform Amazon Web Services

    Amazon Braket GA

    Amazon Braket goes generally available with the Braket SDK. First cloud platform offering quantum hardware from multiple vendors under a single API.

  18. SDK / Language Cambridge Quantum / Quantinuum

    tket Open-Sourced

    Cambridge Quantum Computing (which later merged with Honeywell Quantum Solutions to form Quantinuum) open-sources the tket compiler under Apache 2.0. Now one of the most widely used hardware-agnostic compilers.

  19. Hardware IBM

    IBM Eagle (127 qubits)

    IBM launches the 127-qubit Eagle processor - the first quantum processor to break the 100-qubit barrier and be too large to simulate exactly on classical hardware.

  20. Milestone Xanadu

    Xanadu Borealis (Photonic Advantage)

    Xanadu demonstrates quantum advantage with Borealis - 216 programmable photonic modes complete Gaussian boson sampling in 36 microseconds vs 9,000 classical years.

  21. Hardware IBM

    IBM Osprey (433 qubits)

    IBM releases Osprey at 433 qubits. Qiskit Runtime introduced as the primary execution model, shifting from raw circuit submission to managed primitives.

  22. Platform Microsoft

    Microsoft Azure Quantum Elements

    Microsoft announces Azure Quantum Elements, targeting scientific simulation workloads. Integrates classical HPC and AI with a path to quantum hardware for chemistry and materials simulations.

  23. Hardware IBM

    IBM Condor (1121 qubits)

    IBM releases Condor - the first quantum processor with over 1,000 qubits. Simultaneously releases Heron, a higher-quality 133-qubit processor for algorithm research.

  24. Hardware Harvard / QuEra Computing

    Harvard / QuEra: 48 Logical Qubits

    A Harvard-led team using QuEra's neutral atom platform demonstrates 48 logical qubits on 280 physical qubits, running error-corrected circuits (Nature, December 2023). At the time, the largest demonstration of logical qubits.

  25. SDK / Language IBM

    Qiskit 1.0 Stable Release

    Qiskit reaches its 1.0 stable release with a stable API contract. Major refactor from 0.x - introduces SamplerV2/EstimatorV2 primitives, breaking changes from 0.46.

  26. Milestone NIST

    NIST PQC Standards (FIPS 203/204/205)

    NIST publishes three post-quantum cryptography standards after an 8-year competition: ML-KEM (Kyber), ML-DSA (Dilithium), and SLH-DSA (SPHINCS+). A fourth, FN-DSA (FALCON, planned as FIPS 206), remains in draft. These become the global PQC standards organisations must migrate to.

  27. Hardware IBM

    IBM Heron r2 (156 qubits)

    IBM releases the Heron r2 processor with 156 qubits. IBM reports two-qubit gate fidelities up to 99.9% on its best qubit pairs, narrowing the gap with trapped-ion platforms.

  28. Hardware Google Quantum AI

    Google Willow (105 qubits)

    Google releases Willow, achieving below-threshold error correction - meaning adding more physical qubits reduces the logical error rate. A 30-year theoretical milestone made real.

  29. Hardware Microsoft

    Microsoft Majorana 1

    Microsoft announces Majorana 1, which it describes as the first topological qubit chip. Built on an InAs/Al superconductor-semiconductor heterostructure, the chip is designed to hold 8 topological qubits with hardware-level error protection. The claims have drawn scrutiny from independent researchers; Microsoft targets scaling to one million qubits on a single chip.

  30. Milestone Google Quantum AI

    Google Quantum Echoes on Willow

    Google reports a verifiable quantum advantage result on Willow with its Quantum Echoes (out-of-time-order correlator) algorithm, published in Nature. Google estimates the computation runs roughly 13,000x faster than the best known classical algorithm on a leading supercomputer.

  31. Hardware Quantinuum

    Quantinuum Helios (98 qubits)

    Quantinuum launches Helios, a 98-qubit trapped-ion system with record two-qubit gate fidelity (99.92% reported) and all-to-all connectivity. The company demonstrates 48 error-corrected logical qubits at a roughly 2:1 physical-to-logical ratio.

  32. Hardware Harvard / MIT / QuEra Computing

    QuEra / Harvard: 96 Logical Qubits

    A Harvard, MIT, and QuEra collaboration demonstrates 96 logical qubits encoded in 448 neutral atoms using high-rate error-correcting codes, with below-threshold error suppression (Nature, January 2026). Doubles the 48-logical-qubit record set in 2023.

  33. Algorithm NIST / Industry

    NIST PQC Standards: Enterprise Migration Continues

    Following the August 2024 publication of FIPS 203 (Kyber/ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (Dilithium/ML-DSA), and FIPS 205 (SPHINCS+/SLH-DSA), enterprise adoption accelerates, while FN-DSA (FALCON, planned as FIPS 206) moves through draft review. Financial services and government agencies lead migration with timelines extending to 2030.

  34. Hardware Microsoft

    Majorana 1 Development Continues

    Microsoft continues testing its Majorana 1 topological qubit chip while independent researchers continue to debate the strength of the evidence for topological qubits. A roadmap toward a million qubits on a single chip remains the stated target.