Google moves up quantum timeline

Google’s security update on March 25, 2026 was posted under Heather Adkins and Sophie Schmieg, who framed the shift as a response to new hardware, error‑correction results, and updated factoring cost estimates. (blog.google) Android 17 will ship with ML‑DSA digital‑signature support as part of Google’s PQC rollout, and the company cited ongoing PQC work already present in Chrome and Cloud offerings. (blog.google) Google’s internal rationale references recent hardware and algorithmic milestones, including the Willow processor milestone announced December 9, 2024 and a May 2025 preprint from Craig Gidney that lowered the estimated resources to factor RSA‑2048 to under one million noisy qubits running for about a week. (blog.google) The Google Quantum AI group published a March 24, 2026 roadmap update led by Hartmut Neven that formalizes a neutral‑atom hardware program built on three pillars—quantum error correction, modeling & simulation, and experimental hardware development—and names Dr. Adam Kaufman to lead the Boulder hardware team. (blog.google) Google’s engineering note contrasts modalities by performance metrics: superconducting systems offer microsecond‑scale gate and measurement cycles and high circuit depth, while neutral‑atom arrays currently scale to roughly ten thousand qubits with millisecond‑scale cycles and flexible “any‑to‑any” connectivity. (blog.google) The company’s shift sits against NIST’s transition guidance (NIST IR 8547), which outlines proposed deprecation of legacy public‑key algorithms by 2030 and disallowance by 2035, making Google’s posture materially more aggressive than those draft timelines. (csrc.nist.gov) Security and industry outlets flagged the move as notable because Google simultaneously operates major consumer platforms and an advanced quantum research program, a combination analysts say gives the company unusually direct visibility into both attack risk and mitigation pathways. (cyberscoop.com)