[jl6]

What I’m not clear on is whether quantum computing can be best advanced through $billions of VC money competing for hypothetical future profit, or whether it is still a scientific research project which would benefit from a smaller, more focused and less hype-driven approach.

A lot of what we see reported as progress is academic or quasi-academic papers. Google has the cash to not care too much if its research never turns a profit. Those who are investing may see it as a long-term moonshot or hedge, without any great expectations of imminent profit. The bottleneck may be the number of scientists with good ideas, rather than the amount of cash available.