Accelerating the Commercialization of Quantum Computing: Practical Investments and Technological Innovation Trends by 2025
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The Commercial Turning Point of the Quantum Computing Market
As of December 2025, the quantum computing industry is at a pivotal point, transitioning from theoretical research to practical commercial applications. The global quantum computing market size grew by 38% from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $1.8 billion in 2025, and it is projected to reach $12.5 billion by 2030 with an average annual growth rate of 32%. This rapid growth is driven by substantial advancements in hardware technology and increased corporate investments. Particularly this year, the surge in real business cases utilizing quantum computing in the financial and pharmaceutical sectors has led to the consensus that the industry is entering a full-fledged commercialization phase beyond mere technological experimentation.
IBM, based in New York, achieved the most notable results in the quantum computing field in 2025. The company commercialized the ‘IBM Quantum Condor’ processor with 1,121 qubits in the third quarter, achieving approximately 2.6 times the performance of the previous 433-qubit model. IBM’s quantum computing division revenue increased by 67% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, reaching $840 million, and has become a key growth driver, accounting for about 12% of total revenue. Especially through partnerships with major Wall Street financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, IBM is applying quantum computing solutions to portfolio optimization and risk management, attracting industry attention.
Google’s (Alphabet Inc.) quantum AI division in California also achieved groundbreaking technological advancements in 2025. In October, Google unveiled the ‘Willow’ quantum chip, making significant progress in quantum error correction. This chip reduced the error rate, the greatest weakness of existing quantum computers, to 1/1000, creating a practical quantum computing environment. Google’s quantum computing-related patent filings reached 1,847 in 2025, ranking first globally, and its R&D investment increased by 45% year-over-year to $2.2 billion. The number of customers using quantum computing services through Google Cloud reached 340 by the end of 2025, a 2.1-fold increase from the previous year.
Microsoft Corporation, based in Washington, is pursuing differentiation in the market with its unique approach centered on topological qubit technology. As of the third quarter of 2025, its Azure Quantum cloud service was used by 1,200 companies in 75 countries worldwide, showing strong growth particularly in the European and Asian markets. Microsoft announced an $1.8 billion investment in the quantum computing field this year and plans an additional $5 billion investment by 2026. The company’s quantum computing business revenue reached $620 million in 2025, an 89% increase from the previous year, achieving significant results in new drug development projects with pharmaceutical companies.
Amazon.com Inc.’s quantum computing service, ‘Amazon Braket,’ demonstrated substantial results in logistics and supply chain optimization in 2025. The company applied quantum computing to optimize its logistics network, reducing delivery times by an average of 15% and transportation costs by 12%. Revenue from quantum computing services through Amazon Web Services (AWS) surged by 156% year-over-year to $470 million in the first half of 2025. Notably, European automotive manufacturers like Volvo and BMW are utilizing Amazon’s quantum computing services for battery material research and autonomous driving algorithm development, drawing attention.
Industry-Specific Applications and Market Expansion
The adoption of quantum computing in the financial services industry has become full-fledged in 2025. Goldman Sachs introduced a portfolio optimization system utilizing quantum computing, enhancing computation speed by 100 times compared to the previous system, resulting in an annual revenue improvement of approximately $300 million. JPMorgan Chase improved market volatility prediction accuracy by 15% through a quantum computing-based risk management system, leading to an annual risk reduction effect of about $250 million. European banks like Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse are also actively adopting quantum computing, each investing over $100 million annually in related technology development.
In the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors, the practical use of quantum computing is also expanding. Swiss-based Roche announced that it reduced the time to discover new drug candidates from 18 months to 6 months using quantum computing for molecular simulations in 2025. Pfizer in the U.S. made groundbreaking progress in Alzheimer’s drug development through quantum computing-based protein structure analysis, reducing the time to enter clinical phase 1 by 30%. In Korea, Samsung Biologics is conducting research to optimize biopharmaceutical production processes using quantum computing, reporting preliminary results of a 20% improvement in production yield.
Maryland-based IonQ Inc. achieved the most notable results among quantum computing startups in 2025. The company’s trapped ion technology-based quantum computer achieved a high gate fidelity of 99.8%, the highest in the industry. IonQ’s third-quarter revenue in 2025 increased by 340% year-over-year to $42 million, with government and research institution customers accounting for 65% of total revenue. The company completed a $180 million Series C funding round this year and aims to commercialize a 64-qubit system by 2026. IonQ’s stock price rose by 180% from the beginning of 2025, with a market capitalization reaching $3.5 billion.
The automotive industry is also fully embracing quantum computing. German Volkswagen piloted a quantum computing-based traffic flow optimization system in Lisbon in 2025, reducing traffic congestion by 25%. BMW announced the development of a new lithium-silicon alloy that improves electric vehicle battery efficiency by 18% through quantum computing-based material design. In Korea, Hyundai Motor Company is developing a quantum computing-based autonomous driving route optimization algorithm, planning to apply it to actual vehicles in the first half of 2026. This industry-specific expansion significantly increases B2B demand for quantum computing, driving revenue growth for related companies.
The use of quantum computing in the energy sector is also noteworthy. U.S.-based ExxonMobil developed a new catalyst that improves carbon capture efficiency by 35% through molecular simulations using quantum computing. France’s TotalEnergies announced that it increased oil exploration success rates from 15% to 28% through quantum computing-based geological analysis. In the renewable energy sector, Denmark’s Ørsted optimized wind farm placement using quantum computing, improving power generation efficiency by 22%, resulting in an additional annual revenue of approximately $150 million. These achievements demonstrate that quantum computing is recognized as a practical tool available today, not just a future technology.
The quantum computing hardware ecosystem has significantly expanded in 2025. Canada’s D-Wave Systems maintains a unique position in the annealing quantum computer field, commercializing the ‘Advantage2’ system with 5,000 qubits. China’s Origin Quantum developed Asia’s largest 72-qubit superconducting quantum computer, starting commercial services and providing services to global customers through Alibaba Cloud. In Japan, a 64-qubit quantum computer jointly developed by RIKEN and Fujitsu was commercialized in the second half of 2025, promoting the adoption of quantum computing among Japanese companies. This hardware diversification offers more choices to customers and contributes to market expansion through price competition.
Significant progress has also been made in the quantum computing software and algorithm field. Cambridge Quantum Computing in the UK announced that it achieved image recognition performance 10 times faster than existing deep learning through quantum machine learning algorithms. A research team at ETH Zurich in Switzerland developed a method to solve complex supply chain problems 100 times faster than before using quantum optimization algorithms. These software innovations synergize with hardware performance improvements, significantly enhancing the practicality of quantum computing. The spread of quantum cloud services allows small and medium-sized enterprises to utilize quantum computing technology at relatively low costs, expanding the market base.
Investment Trends and Future Outlook
Venture investment in the quantum computing field in 2025 increased by 78% year-over-year to $4.5 billion. Seed and Series A stage early investments accounted for 42% of the total, indicating active market entry by new companies. The main investment areas were quantum software (35%), quantum networking (28%), quantum sensing (22%), and quantum hardware (15%). By region, the U.S. accounted for 48% of the total investment, followed by Europe at 27%, Asia-Pacific at 21%, and other regions at 4%. Notably, investment growth rates in China and India were 145% and 89%, respectively, indicating rapid growth in the Asian market.
Government-level investments in quantum computing have also expanded significantly. The U.S. is investing $2.5 billion annually through the National Quantum Initiative in 2025, a 56% increase from the previous year. China invested $1.8 billion in the quantum technology field in 2025 as part of its 14th Five-Year Plan. The European Union invested 1 billion euros (approximately $1.1 billion) through the ‘Quantum Flagship’ program, focusing particularly on quantum communication and quantum sensing. The Korean government invested 350 billion won in 2025 through the ‘K-Quantum Initiative’ and plans to invest a total of 2 trillion won by 2030.
The competition for talent acquisition is also intensifying. The average starting salary for Ph.D. holders in quantum computing was $180,000 in 2025, a 23% increase from the previous year. Major companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft are competitively raising salaries to secure quantum computing experts, with a particularly high demand for experts in quantum algorithms and quantum error correction. The number of quantum computing-related departments and programs at universities worldwide reached 340 in 2025, a 45% increase from the previous year, with rapid expansion of related educational courses in China and India.
The future outlook for the quantum computing market is very positive. The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that the global quantum computing market will grow at an average annual rate of 32% to reach $12.5 billion by 2030. Practical applications achieving ‘quantum advantage’ are expected to emerge around 2027, accelerating market growth. McKinsey analyzed that quantum computing could generate $850 billion in annual economic value globally by 2035. This corresponds to about 15% of the current global IT market size, suggesting that quantum computing could become a next-generation core technology.
However, the quantum computing industry also faces significant challenges. The biggest issues remain the high error rates and short coherence times. Even the most advanced quantum computers currently achieve only 99.9% gate fidelity, limiting the execution of practical quantum algorithms. Additionally, the cost of maintaining the cryogenic environment required for quantum computer operation reaches millions of dollars annually, making economic viability a crucial challenge. The quantum software ecosystem is still in its early stages, and there is a need for standardized development tools and programming languages accessible to general developers. The speed of resolving these technical challenges is expected to be a key variable determining the growth trajectory of the quantum computing market.
*This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation or advice for investment. Investment decisions should be made based on individual judgment and responsibility.
