Google reduces quantum error rate on Willow processor

Google has published research demonstrating a technique that significantly reduces error rates on its quantum processors. Decrypt, The Defiant, and OfficeChai all report that the company published its findings in the journal Science on October 15, 2026. The research showed that a process called magic state cultivation cut errors on Google's Willow processor by roughly 40 times. [1][2][3]

The Defiant reports that the result achieved roughly 99.99 percent state fidelity on the Willow chip. According to Decrypt, the advance validates a technique long discussed in theoretical resource estimates, making quantum systems cheaper to build by reducing the physical resources required to produce magic states. [1][2]

Decrypt notes that reducing magic state cultivation errors accelerates the timeline for quantum computers to perform practical tasks. These applications include designing new drugs and materials. Decrypt also reports that smaller, more efficient quantum machines bring forward the date when quantum hardware could potentially threaten the encryption systems that secure bank logins and Bitcoin wallets. [1]