Bill Gates Predicts Useful Quantum Computing Is 3 to 5 Years AwayBill Gates Predicts Useful Quantum Computing Is 3 to 5 Years Away

Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates has predicted that quantum computers will become useful in the next three to five years.

His comments, made during a Yahoo Finance podcast interview, contradict a recent statement by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who said that practical quantum computers are 15 to 30 years away.

Gates acknowledged that quantum computing is still in its early stages and that challenges remain but expressed optimism about the rapid progress being made.

The Gates perspective aligns with other industry leaders who see quantum computing as a game-changing technology. He said he remains hopeful that recent breakthroughs could accelerate development while acknowledging Huang's skepticism.

"There is the possibility that he could be wrong," Gates said of Huang. "There is the possibility in the next three to five years that one of these techniques would get enough true logical qubits to solve some very tough problems. And Microsoft is a competitor in that space."

Gates said that he regularly reviews the work Microsoft is carrying out in quantum computing and is impressed with the progress, but he admits uncertainties remain.

"This is both in terms of how you build a quantum computer and what software you write that can solve problems that other computers couldn't write," he said.

Related:Microsoft Launches Quantum Ready Program for Business

"There's some hard work to be done and Microsoft has been in this field a long time, as well as Google and many, many, many players."

Microsoft has been actively investing in quantum computing and it plans to introduce a scalable quantum system that could further advance the field.

The company launched its Quantum Ready program for business in January. It also announced a collaboration with Atom Computing to build a commercial quantum computer with more than 1,000 physical neutral-atom qubits by the end of 2025.