Yesterday Microsoft announced that the firm has harnessed a new state of matter to dramatically reduce the error rate commonly associated with quantum computing. The Microsoft news follows a related breakthrough announced late last year by Alphabet, that we previously highlighted. The pace of these developments makes the United Nations look rather prescient given it 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. These developments amplify 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.