In partnership with

Technology

Google made a breakthrough in quantum computing

This could be the end of classical computing as we know it. Earlier this week, Google announced its newest quantum chip, Willow, made two significant breakthroughs in quantum computing.

The most powerful computer

First off, how do these things work? Quantum computers (see breakdown) process information using quantum bits (qubits), which can exist in multiple states at once, thanks to quantum mechanics. Traditional computers, however, process them separately as zeros and ones.

• This allows them to solve problems exponentially faster (to put it mildly) than a traditional computer.

  • Essentially, the more qubits a quantum computer has, the more powerful it is.

However, more qubits also mean more mistakes will be made when calculating… until now. For the first time in history, adding more qubits to Willow decreased the error rate, which is a crucial milestone in developing this kind of computing, according to Google's Quantum AI team.

• By efficiently distributing the quantum information among over 100 qubits, Google's Willow processor creates a single "logical" qubit.

Increasing the array of qubits greatly accelerates problem-solving, which can revolutionize entire industries, like financial modeling, scientific research, drug discovery, and machine learning, among other things.

A one and 24 zeros

If you remember, I said Google’s quantum chip made two significant achievements at the top of the article. Well, in order to demonstrate the newfound power Willow possesses, researchers had the chip solve a test problem in less than five minutes.

What’s the big deal? The fastest supercomputer in the world would take 10 septillion years to complete the same calculation. That is 714 trillion times longer than the age of the universe… and Willow did it in five minutes.

• Researchers at Google’s Quantum AI lab are now going to attempt to scale up the number of “logical” qubits to create even more processing power.

Looking forward: An Oxford researcher told The Guardian that quantum computing might start to significantly alter our lives in five years, given nations are throwing billions of dollars into research. Additionally, Google said that by 2030, the breakthrough might enable it to create a commercially viable quantum computer.

International

China takes aim at Nvidia amid trade war with US

This marks the most recent major development in the trade war between the two superpowers. China has opened an investigation against Nvidia for alleged anti-monopoly law violations, which is widely seen as a response to the US's most recent restrictions on the Chinese chip industry.

However, the State Administration for Market Regulation, which announced the probe, did not specify what exactly the US chipmaker did to breach the Chinese anti-monopoly law.

Back and forth

China claims to be looking into Nvidia's 2020 acquisition of Israeli chip designer Mellanox, as it allegedly violated the terms of that deal as well.

• China approved several terms of the deal, including a promise that Nvidia wouldn't target Chinese businesses unfairly.

Two years later, after the US imposed export limitations on advanced semiconductors used for both military and commercial purposes, Nvidia was required to lessen its direct sales to China.

• The US tightened the regulations earlier this month, designating 140 Chinese companies as prohibited clients.

• China retaliated the following day by enacting a complete blockade of some vital earth minerals and chemicals that are used to produce electric vehicles and electronics for use in weapons.

As China gets ready to participate in trade talks with the incoming Trump administration, experts say they could be prodding for leverage against Nvidia by using regulatory challenges.

It’s a large market for the company: Nvidia produces the majority of the world’s advanced AI chips, accounting for 90% of global sales in 2023, with China making up around 12% of its total revenue in the past year.

Business

Take a look at the world’s biggest advertising giant

The biggest merger in the ad industry made everyone go “OMG!”. In a deal worth $13 billion, Omnicom Group announced this week that it will acquire rival Interpublic Group, creating the largest advertising agency in the world with a total valuation of over $25 billion.

As tech companies like Amazon and Google increasingly chip away at ad agencies’ market share, even the largest among them are having to team up in order to compete.

Mega-merger

Essentially, the two of the biggest ad agencies in the world combined to make the biggest ad agency in the world. With around $15 billion in revenue in 2023, Omnicom is the third-largest advertising holding firm in the world, followed by Interpublic with approximately $11 billion.

• Together, the two advertising firms will surpass other industry leaders, such as WPP, which generated $18 billion in revenue in 2023.

• Plus, the merger is predicted to save around $750 million a year in added costs.

They’ll get a lot of business… Apple, Chanel, and Disney are among Omnicom's clients, while Mattel and Johnson & Johnson are among Interpublic's notable customers.

What about the shareholders? Omnicom and Interpublic stockholders will possess 60.6% and 39.4% of the combined business, respectively, following the conditions of the stock-for-stock deal.

• The new company, which will stay under the Omnicom name, will also trade on the New York Stock Exchange using the OMC ticker symbol.

Iconic ads: Omnicom and Interpublic are the agencies that made famous advertising campaigns and slogans like "Think Different" for Apple and "Got Milk" for the California Milk Processor Board.

Grab Bag

The Murdoch family’s succession battle just got more complicated

This quite literally reads like a script of Succession (the TV show). Rupert Murdoch was denied by a Nevada commissioner to alter his will and appoint his oldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, to control his vast media and business empire, News Corp (which owns Fox Entertainment Group), when he dies.

Succession war

Early this fall, Rupert and his oldest son went to court to contend that it is in the company’s best interest to have Lachlan gain complete control of News Corp and Fox News.

• Part of their argument included revoking Lachlan’s other three siblings’ voting privileges in the matter.

• They also claimed shareholders would stand to benefit if Lachlan were to take over, as maintaining the network’s partisan bend is what has made it so successful.

Ultimately, Rupert and Lachlan will appeal the decision, but if it doesn’t succeed, the media empire will be left equally to Rupert’s four children, whose ideological viewpoints differ from the more conservative leanings of Lachlan and his father.

Reality is stranger than fiction: Immediately following the episode of the popular HBO series Succession in which (spoiler alert) media tycoon Logan Roy dies, the four Murdoch children began secretly discussing a public relations plan for their father's death.

Need help filling your Christmas list? Use AI

Have AI tackle your holiday shopping before it inevitably destroys humanity. Generative AI is already assisting a large number of online shoppers in filling their gift baskets this holiday season, and it probably will for the rest to come.

Generative gifting

Perplexity AI, a competitor of ChatGPT, introduced a shopping assistant bot earlier this month that cross-references products and analyzes reviews for you. The service also offers free shipping on some orders… if you’re a pro subscriber.

• This year, Walmart and Amazon also introduced new online shopping bots that provide tailored product recommendations.

  • New AI-powered gift guides from the king of e-commerce (Amazon) can be utilized by shoppers using its chatbot Rufus.

Chatbots doubled internet traffic to shopping sites between January and August of this year, according to Adobe's annual online shopping forecast. AI is also helping with customer service, with 60% of Gen Z shoppers saying they enjoy the quicker resolutions chatbots provide, per a Five9 study.

It’ll be a big year: Adobe is estimating over half of all presents under the Christmas tree will be ordered online, totaling a record $128 billion in sales.

Fast Facts

Pie Poaching: Police found a van stolen from an English Michelin star restaurant that contained over $32,000 worth of pies. The 2,500 pies were too damaged to be eaten and had to be thrown out.

Wheel and Deal: You can now buy cars off of Amazon. The e-commerce giant launched Amazon Autos on Tuesday, allowing customers to buy Hyundai vehicles in 48 participating cities across the US.

Battle Blowback: Locals are opposing Airbnb's proposal to host gladiator battles at Rome's Colosseum next year (no, this isn't The Onion).

Losing lbs: A recent study compared the two most popular weight loss drugs to see which made people lose more weight. Zepbound helped participants lose an average of 20.2% of their body weight in 18 months, whereas Wegovy led to 13.7% weight loss on average.

Flying High: According to the International Air Transport Association, the airline industry is expected to generate more than $1 trillion in revenue for the first time ever next year.