Key Points
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IonQ is the upstart of this bunch — offering investors a pure-play quantum computing pick.
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Alphabet’s quantum technology is being developed, although investors don’t know a ton about it.
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Nvidia bridges the gap between traditional computing and quantum computing.
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Useful quantum computing is coming quicker than many investors realize. While 2030 used to be the year that most firms pointed to as the arrival date, that timeline has been accelerated to 2029, according to several industry leaders. This could be a huge breakthrough for this industry, and investors need to be prepared and positioned properly.
In order to do this, I think forming a basket of stocks ranging from aggressive to conservative quantum computing investments is a smart idea. The three stocks that make up this basket are IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Each of these represents a range of aggressiveness, and all play a different role in the quantum computing industry.
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IonQ
IonQ is the most aggressive investment on this list, by far. Its only mission is to bring about viable quantum computing, and it’s one of the top pure-play quantum computing companies. Next year, its 256-qubit system launches, and this could be a major stepping stone for early-stage quantum computing integration. The system’s accuracy and size dwarf anything that is currently available, and IonQ has already sold several systems via preorder.
This launch will be key in determining IonQ’s future, as if it goes well, it could become the go-to quantum computing unit provider. However, it’s also a very risky investment. There’s no guarantee that IonQ will pan out as an investment, as its products could be outshone by another’s, or it may fail to provide adequate quantum computing power that the industry demands.
We’ll see how IonQ pans out, but as of now, it’s looking quite promising.
Alphabet
Alphabet is a moderately aggressive investment. Alphabet is actively pursuing developing a quantum computing unit, and at the core of its design is its Willow quantum computing chip. Last year about this time, Alphabet announced the first verifiable quantum computing advantage, meaning it ran an algorithm faster than a traditional computing setup. This is a huge deal, and it’s possible that more breakthroughs are happening right now.
The tech giant has been fairly quiet about its quantum computing breakthroughs recently, but that’s likely on purpose — not because it’s struggling. IonQ needs outside funding to operate, so it must be very vocal about its breakthroughs to keep investors interested. Alphabet is self-funding its quantum computing product lineup, so it can be more secretive.
If Alphabet can develop a viable quantum computing platform, the biggest area it will likely affect is Google Cloud. Alphabet may or may not sell these chips on the open market, but it’s easy to envision a scenario where Alphabet keeps these units in-house, and clients can rent access to them via Google Cloud to run quantum workloads. This would be the first computing units where Alphabet completely owns the entire process, which would make this highly profitable.
Alphabet is looking smart about its quantum computing platform, although investors have mostly been in the dark about it.
Nvidia
Last is Nvidia, the most conservative quantum computing investment of all. The reason it holds this title is that it isn’t designing a quantum computing unit to compete against IonQ or Alphabet. Instead, it’s going all in on its traditional accelerated computing units, the GPU. Nvidia believes that quantum computing will happen in a hybrid environment, which requires traditional computing power, like it provides, to function properly.
To support this, Nvidia has developed the NVQLink, which allows quantum computers to easily plug into existing computing networks. It has also adapted its CUDA software to include quantum computing functions and developed an AI model to help with error correction.
These are all important to quantum computing, but do not require a ton of investment on Nvidia’s part. So, if quantum computing flops, Nvidia’s computing units will still be a top choice for any task that requires extreme computing power. If quantum computing becomes a game changer, then its computing units will still be used right alongside those. With how much computing demand there is for AI right now, I think this makes Nvidia a great tech investment, as it has use cases spanning the next decade.
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Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, IonQ, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
