Nature allows the storage and manipulation of data in new and powerful ways using quantum mechanics. John Martinis explains the basic concepts behind the exponential power of this technology and how to build a quantum computer using superconductors. He shows recent experimental data on a “quantum supremacy” experiment with 53 qubits: the Sycamore processor takes about 200 seconds to run a quantum circuit a million times - the equivalent task for a state-of-the-art classical supercomputer would take approximately 10,000 years. Finally, he explains some of the future uses of quantum algorithms and what may be in store for the field in the next 10 years.