Good morning, CIOs. Quantum computing company D-Wave said it achieved “quantum supremacy,” better known as the ability to solve a problem with a quantum computer that can’t be done with a traditional computer.

The company published a paper in the scientific journal Science on Wednesday, outlining how it accomplished a materials simulation that it says is beyond the reach of today’s traditional, or classical computers.

The episode caps a string of recent announcements, or “breakthroughs” from a technology that has remained a decade or so from delivering a commercially useful quantum computer for the last decade or so. (Although some have different timelines).

Google and Amazon each announced their own quantum chips while Microsoft in February said it created a new state of matter to help make quantum computers more powerful.

At the heart of D-Wave’s paper is that it has achieved the ability to simulate properties of magnetic materials using its quantum computer, the company said.

The WSJ’s Belle Lin reports that some physicists question D-Wave’s claim, arguing that today’s traditional, or classical computers, which store and process information using binary digits, or bits, are capable of achieving similar results.

“We’re solving an important problem,” said Andrew King, a senior distinguished scientist at D-Wave, “and it’s in a regime that is totally intractable for leading classical methods. That’s why we call it quantum supremacy.” Read the story.

Bioscience funding confusion threatens U.S. Uncertainty over federal funding for bioscience programs is endangering U.S. leadership in the field, which could affect drug development and the nation’s competitiveness more widely, scientists tell the WSJ's Steven Rosenbush.

“It’s chaos,” said David Baker, a University of Washington biochemist who won the Nobel Prize last year for his work on designing proteins not found in nature.

The Trump administration has suffered several adverse court rulings since issuing a memo in January that told federal agencies to pause funding.

But the situation is still making it difficult for universities to admit graduate students in bioscience, a field that is broadly funded by federal grants through the National Institutes of Health, because of fears that future rulings could go the other way. Read the story.

Tan has more than 20 years of semiconductor and software experience and served on Intel’s board for about two years before stepping down in August.

"We will work hard to restore Intel’s position as a world-class products company” and chips foundry, Tan said Wednesday in a message to employees.

Intel stock rose 13%, to $23.28, in after-hours trading Wednesday following Tan’s appointment.

Google DeepMind announces two generative AI models aimed at helping robots perform a wider array of real-world tasks. The models, Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER, add more dexterity, spatial awareness and reasoning capabilities, helping machines adapt to human environments, the FT reports.

Intern of the future? “According to Google DeepMind, a robot trained using its new models was able to fold an origami fox, organise a desk according to verbal instructions, wrap headphone wires and slam dunk a miniature basketball through a hoop.”

Related:

• Humanoid Robots Finally Get Real Jobs
• AI Robots Are Entering the Public World—With Mixed Results

Pony AI scaling up its robotaxi fleet. After rolling out service in several major Chinese cities last year, the self-driving company hopes to launch more than 1,000 robotaxis this year and aims to have more than 10,000 on the road within the next three years.

Niantic to sell Pokemon GO, other games to Saudi-backed group in $3.5 billion deal. Mobile game Pokemon GO put augmented reality on the map in 2016 as it peppered gamers’ maps with the popular creatures. The buyer is Savvy Games Group’s subsidiary, Scopely, a company backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Report: Open-source security. Open-source software, which is free and built by volunteer coders around the world, powers the internet and, by extension, much of enterprise technology. But don’t let those good intentions lull your business into complacency. Old or otherwise faulty code can present serious problems. An analysis of commercial codebases by security firm Black Duck Software found that 97% contained some open source code. Of that group, 86% contained open source vulnerabilities, with 81% of the applications containing "high- or critical-risk vulnerabilities."

American consumers have had a lot to fret about so far this year, between never-ending tariff headlines, stubborn inflation and most recently, fresh fears about a recession. These concerns seem to be hitting spending by both rich and poor, across necessities and luxuries, all at once. (WSJ)

Russia said its forces were in the final stages of ousting Ukraine’s army from the Kursk region, where Kyiv had taken Russian territory that it had hoped to use as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations. (WSJ)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) threw a wrench into a Republican plan to avert a government shutdown this weekend, saying there wasn’t enough Democratic support to advance the measure funding federal agencies through Sept. 30. (WSJ)

New Census Bureau estimates released Thursday show that the New York and Chicago metro areas grew in each of the past two years ended in June. The Los Angeles area expanded in the 12 months ended in June. (WSJ)