Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) shares surged 5.25% in pre-market trading on Friday, riding the wave of investor enthusiasm for quantum computing stocks following a series of recent technological breakthroughs and announcements.
The quantum computing sector has seen renewed interest and speculative trading in recent weeks, fueled by Alphabet Inc.'s Google unveiling its highly-anticipated "Willow" quantum chip. Willow boasts the ability to perform complex calculations in mere minutes, a task that would take the world's most powerful supercomputers billions of years, signaling a potential paradigm shift in computing power.
Beyond Google's milestone, other catalysts have also propelled stocks like QUBT higher. The company itself secured a major contract from NASA for image and data processing support, highlighting the potential applications of quantum computing across industries. Additionally, Amazon Web Services' recent launch of its Quantum Embark Program has further stoked investor optimism around the technology's commercial prospects.