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BEYOND AI: IS QUANTUM THE NEXT "FIRE MOMENT"?

Forget the "ChatGPT moment." The real revolution on the horizon is quantum computing—a shift BofA compares to humanity's discovery of fire.

"A human would have to perform one sum every second for c.50 quintillion years to equal what a quantum computer (QC) can do in a single second," BofA equity strategists including Haim Israel write in a report.

"This could be the biggest revolution for humanity since discovering fire."

So what's the investment case?

The report, out on Wednesday, points to a potential market for quantum applications - from creating new drugs and materials to revolutionizing encryption and increasing longevity - worth $2 trillion by 2035.

This acceleration is driven by tech advances, significant economic opportunity, the powerful combination of quantum and AI, along with vast government interests in driving investment.

"Whoever wins the 'quantum race' will gain an unprecedented geopolitical, technological and economic advantage," they say.

Of course, the technology isn't ready for primetime just yet. The bank notes that QCs are "currently too error prone."

Nevertheless, BofA says the timeline for "quantum advantage" - where these computers can solve major real-world problems - is getting closer, with most estimates now pointing to 2030-2033.

Just last month, Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia NVDA.O, said quantum computing technology was at an inflection point.

(Danilo Masoni)

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