People also forget that analogue computers, mechanical devices to perform calculations, can also be faster than digital computers in some situations. That doesn't make them commercially viable.
Seems to me that most all of the quantum computing community is trying to be in the right place when they can start cracking current encryption standards at a commercial scale. At that moment, anyone with a functional quantum computer will drown in money. Then a few weeks later new quantum-resistant algorithms will appear and the gold rush will end. All the other quantum projects seem like attempts to keep ones foot in the market while waiting for that day.
Seems to me that most all of the quantum computing community is trying to be in the right place when they can start cracking current encryption standards at a commercial scale. At that moment, anyone with a functional quantum computer will drown in money. Then a few weeks later new quantum-resistant algorithms will appear and the gold rush will end. All the other quantum projects seem like attempts to keep ones foot in the market while waiting for that day.