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For all the people saying this is a scam/waste of money/always 10 years away, I’m curious what you envision the funding model for this kind of speculative tech

For all the people saying this is a scam/waste of money/always 10 years away, I’m curious what you envision the funding model for this kind of speculative tech to be. The government ceased to be the bankroll for this kind of stuff since the end of the Cold War, and for better or for worse, VC is where the money is right now. The marketing BS with stuff like quantum, fusion, carbon capture, etc. is simply a cost of doing business in this environment. If it’s such a travesty that VCs are making bets on tech like this, how then do you fund long term R&D projects with a high risk of failure? Isn’t that the point?

seydor 3y ago
there is general public funding for all kinds of science, including physics I never got the intense interest in quantum computing. My pet theory is that (CS-educated) rich VCs were taken by the word 'computing' , but in reality QC is a theoretical sub-branch of quantum physics. I should test my theory by publishing my tomato computing theory.
- fastneutron 3y ago
  Anything being done in the public sector (e.g. academia or government) is pocket change by comparison, and so bound up with red tape these days that most truly high risk/reward bets are passed over. That, and you’re at the mercy of congressional budget cycles and the usual grant writing hunger games. If innovation emerges from that environment, it’s in spite of it, not because of it. If private capital wants to fund deeptech, more power to them. If they want forego due diligence and fund tomato computers, that’s (literally) their business.
- dboreham 3y ago
  Except Physics might be a branch of CS.
dekhn 3y ago
The US government has been funding this for quite some time after the cold war and continues to do so. National labs in the US are on the forefront of quantum research (in general) and quantum computing research.
- programjames 3y ago
  Yep, just this year they announced a whole lot of money for quantum networking, and I'm sure the rest of quantum computing gets even more.
idkdotcom 3y ago
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seydor 3y ago

there is general public funding for all kinds of science, including physics I never got the intense interest in quantum computing. My pet theory is that (CS-educated) rich VCs were taken by the word 'computing' , but in reality QC is a theoretical sub-branch of quantum physics. I should test my theory by publishing my tomato computing theory.

fastneutron 3y ago
Anything being done in the public sector (e.g. academia or government) is pocket change by comparison, and so bound up with red tape these days that most truly high risk/reward bets are passed over. That, and you’re at the mercy of congressional budget cycles and the usual grant writing hunger games. If innovation emerges from that environment, it’s in spite of it, not because of it. If private capital wants to fund deeptech, more power to them. If they want forego due diligence and fund tomato computers, that’s (literally) their business.
dboreham 3y ago
Except Physics might be a branch of CS.

dekhn 3y ago

The US government has been funding this for quite some time after the cold war and continues to do so. National labs in the US are on the forefront of quantum research (in general) and quantum computing research.

programjames 3y ago
Yep, just this year they announced a whole lot of money for quantum networking, and I'm sure the rest of quantum computing gets even more.

idkdotcom 3y ago

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