Who cares about 0.09%?

A 0.09% gate fidelity improvement—from 99% to 99.99%—could determine whether quantum computing achieves practical scalability, according to a May 2026 analysis. Error rates below 99.99% are considered the threshold for fault-tolerant quantum computation, enabling error correction and reliable multi-qubit operations. Current NISQ-era devices (99% fidelity) face exponential error accumulation, limiting circuit depth and real-world applications like cryptography or material science. The report highlights that even minor fidelity gains reduce logical qubit overhead, making large-scale quantum systems economically viable. Industry experts warn that without reaching 99.99% thresholds, quantum advantage may remain theoretical, stalling progress in drug discovery and optimization.