Google recently announced a new computing chip called Willow.

But this chip isn't just a new chip or a small upgrade to an older one. It's an absolute game-changer.

The ramifications of this breakthrough are almost too vast to comprehend. But in today's Market 360, I'm going to try to break it down for you. Because if you haven't heard about quantum computing already, you soon will...

Now, I'll be honest, when I first alerted my Growth Investor subscribers to quantum computing back in late April, I thought this theme would take a few years to play out.

Turns out, I was wrong.

Two of the picks I suggested have already shot up around 400% since early May - with the bulk of those gains coming in just the past two months! (In fact, one of those stocks "inched" up another 20% last Friday.)

But as I'll explain in a moment, the quantum computing party isn't over yet, so investors would be wise to get up to speed - now.

Now, before we go any further, let's back up and explain quantum computing.

When British mathematician Alan Turing imagined a world where machines could "think," he didn't stop there.

The father of modern computing went so far as to lay the foundation for artificial Intelligence by suggesting building a program to simulate the mind of a child. That way, you could teach it.

If you've spent some time interacting with a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT, then this should resonate.

Now, I want you to think about a maze for a moment.

A classic computer will run a simulation by choosing a path. It will start all over again when it hits a dead end in the maze. It will repeat this process again and again until it finds the solution.

What's more, if you can teach the computer how to reason like a person, then it could take a more efficient approach. Theoretically, it could automatically weed out the obvious dead ends, for example, and optimize the simulations even further.

But here's where things get really interesting, so stick with me here.

What if you could test ALL paths of the maze simultaneously, giving you the correct answer in just a fraction of the time?

Then you'd really have something on your hands, right? A few decades ago, this notion was just theoretical. The idea that matter can exist in multiple states at once only existed in the more or less theoretical realm of quantum mechanics.

Here's how my InvestorPlace colleague Global Macro Specialist Eric Fry puts it:

In classical computing, machines translate whatever you ask of it into binary code - a language of 0s and 1s. These connected codes form bits that represent individual symbols or patterns.

On the other hand, quantum computing uses principles of quantum mechanics to solve complex problems through quantum bits, or qubits.

The difference between bits and qubits lies in how information is processed: Where a regular bit can only be 0 or 1, a qubit can exist as both 0 and 1 simultaneously.

Now, if you're still with me, this unique ability to exist in multiple states at once allows quantum computers to generate many solutions at the same time. This dramatically broadens computational possibilities.

That's what quantum computing is all about. The idea is simple: Solve hard problems much faster than regular computers.

Here's why this matters...

For years, quantum computers were stuck in labs at universities and government agencies.

They're big, complex, expensive - and need to be kept in freezing-cold conditions.

Oh yeah, and the more qubits are used, the more mistakes they make.

That's where advances in quantum chip technology, like Willow, are reducing the error rate.

And thanks to a single piece of technology called an ion trapper, the quantum computer is set to break out of the lab... and into profit-making corporate America.

I'll spare you the technical details, but an ion trapper basically uses electrically charged atoms to store and manipulate qubits. (A qubit, by the way, is the quantum version of the classic binary bit.)

The result? Smaller, simpler quantum computers. Machines that work at room temperature. Machines you can use almost anywhere. Machines that are (relatively) affordable.

In other words, the first ever commercially viable quantum computer is on the horizon.

The implications here are hard to understate. While classical computers have made tremendous gains over the decades, with quantum computing we're talking about a complete paradigm shift.

You can throw Moore's Law - which states that the number of transistors on a microchip (and, in turn, computing power) doubles approximately every two years - out the window.

We're going to start solving problems we don't even know we have.

I'm bringing this up because, as we all know, artificial intelligence has been dominating the market. This is understandable, of course, since AI is quite literally changing the world as we know it.

And right before our eyes, companies like NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), which makes the chips necessary for companies looking to implement generative AI, are making money hand over fist, enriching investors in the process.

But I am here to tell you today that you should always keep an eye out for the next technological revolution on the horizon. Because by the time the mainstream public hears about it, the "easy" money will have already been made.

The folks at NVIDIA know this, which is why they're already working on quantum computing, too.

Before we get to AI's quantum computing-powered stage, businesses and people have to truly learn to work with LLMs... and seek alternative methods to push AI further. This is where the future pace of development will depend on both human-and-machine ingenuity.

The winners here will be the AI Appliers, the companies smart enough to apply imperfect AI technologies to an equally imperfect world. These are the firms that recognize AI's limitations and create innovative solutions to overcome them.

I expect this third stage of the AI Revolution will begin in 2025 - and my InvestorPlace colleagues Luke Lango and Eric Fry agree. It's why we decided to team up and create a new portfolio of seven stocks that we believe will lead this next stage of AI development. These AI Appliers are...

We also believe these firms will help investors prepare financially for a world increasingly dominated by computers that are smarter than the average person (though still far from perfect).

To learn more about our AI Appliers portfolio and how to access it, watch our broadcast here.