The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum, recognizing the 100 year anniversary of Werner Heisenberg’s pioneering paper on quantum mechanics. While quantum computing is still not commercially available, it appears we will not need to wait another 100 years before that occurs. Late last year, Google demonstrated that its Willow quantum chip could perform a benchmark calculation in five minutes compared to the theoretical time it would take a classical supercomputer: 10 septillion years, that’s a 10 with 24 zeroes. This remarkable result is amplifying existing enthusiasm for quantum technology. Since 2020, equity funding by venture capitalists has risen threefold from USD 426 million to USD 1,287 million in 2024 (January through November). While work remains before quantum computing becomes commercially viable, as our Digital Innovations strategy team notes in their 2025 Outlook, progress to date indicates we are in a new golden age for invention.
Source: CB Insights, December 2024