The First Year of Quantum Computing Commercialization: Intensifying Global Tech Supremacy Competition
Editor
As of December 2025, the quantum computing industry is at a historic turning point. Google’s ‘Willow’ chip, announced in October, demonstrated quantum supremacy once again by solving calculations in five minutes that would take billions of years on a traditional supercomputer. This achievement is considered a significant milestone, showcasing the potential for commercialization beyond mere technical success. The global quantum computing market is projected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2024 to $5 billion by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 25%. It is expected that hardware will account for 60% and software and services for 40% of this market.
Alphabet, headquartered in Mountain View, California, possesses the most advanced technology in the quantum computing field. Google’s Willow chip, equipped with 105 qubits, has made groundbreaking progress in quantum error correction. This significantly improves upon the interference and error accumulation issues between qubits, which were major problems in existing quantum computers. Since achieving the first quantum supremacy with the 53-qubit Sycamore processor in 2019, Google has solidified its technological lead through continuous R&D investment. The company invests over $1 billion annually in the quantum computing sector and aims to commercialize practical quantum computers by 2030.
IBM, headquartered in Armonk, New York, is also a leader in the quantum computing field. In November 2025, IBM unveiled the ‘Condor’ processor with 1,121 qubits, surpassing Google in qubit count. However, in quantum computing, error rates and stability are considered more critical metrics than the sheer number of qubits. IBM’s strength lies in its cloud-based quantum computing service, the ‘IBM Quantum Network,’ which provides access to quantum computing for over 200 institutions worldwide. Through this platform, more than 3 billion quantum circuits are executed annually, with increasing cases of solving real business problems.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, is challenging the quantum computing market with a unique approach. The company is developing ‘topological qubit’ technology, aiming to implement quantum computers with greater stability than existing qubits. Although a complete implementation of topological qubits has not yet been achieved, Microsoft collaborates with various quantum hardware partners through its Azure Quantum cloud service. In 2025, Microsoft invested $800 million in the quantum computing sector, focusing on developing quantum software tools and the programming language Q#.
The Rise of the Asian Market and South Korea’s Response
In Asia, the competition in quantum computing is also intensifying. China is investing heavily in quantum computing development under national leadership, with government investment in quantum computing reaching $2.5 billion annually by 2025. The University of Science and Technology of China announced that it achieved quantum supremacy in specific computational areas with the ‘Jiuzhang’ quantum computer, which uses 76 photons. Japan is also actively engaging in quantum computing research, centered around RIKEN and the University of Tokyo, allocating $500 million from the 2025 government budget for quantum technology development.
South Korea’s quantum computing industry, although starting relatively late, is making rapid strides with joint efforts from the government and private companies. Samsung Electronics has been actively developing semiconductors for quantum computing since 2024, focusing on control chips for quantum processors operating in cryogenic environments. The company announced plans to invest 2 trillion won in the quantum computing sector over the next three years. SK Hynix is also developing memory technology for quantum computing, researching special memory devices capable of stably storing quantum states.
The South Korean government announced the ‘Quantum Computing K-Project’ in 2025, committing 3 trillion won over the next decade to build a quantum computing ecosystem. The core of this project is to link R&D centered around major universities such as KAIST, Seoul National University, and POSTECH with commercialization technology development by large corporations like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and SK Hynix. South Korea is focusing on developing key components for quantum computing by leveraging its strengths in the semiconductor and display sectors.
Accelerating Commercialization and Industry-Specific Applications
In 2025, practical applications of quantum computing are rapidly increasing. The most notable field is drug development. Roche, based in Basel, Switzerland, is conducting a project to explore Alzheimer’s drug candidates using IBM’s quantum computer, achieving an 80% reduction in computation time compared to traditional supercomputers. Bayer in Germany also announced that quantum computing could reduce the pesticide development period from five years to two through molecular simulations.
In the financial industry, the application of quantum computing is becoming more pronounced. In the first half of 2025, JP Morgan Chase in the U.S. began pilot applications of quantum algorithms for portfolio optimization and risk management. Particularly in complex derivative pricing and Monte Carlo simulations, it demonstrated calculation speeds over 100 times faster than traditional computers. Goldman Sachs is also forming its quantum computing team to develop high-frequency trading algorithms, aiming to launch commercial services by 2026.
In the field of encryption, concerns and preparations are simultaneously underway regarding the impact of quantum computing on existing security systems. RSA encryption, currently widely used, can be easily decrypted by quantum computers, prompting governments and companies worldwide to develop Post-Quantum Cryptography. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially announced the Post-Quantum Cryptography standard in 2024, and by the end of 2025, over 60% of major global companies have adopted or plan to adopt this standard.
The logistics and optimization sectors are also proving the practicality of quantum computing. Volkswagen in Germany successfully conducted an experiment in Beijing, calculating optimal routes for 418 taxis using quantum computers, reducing overall travel time by an average of 15%. UPS in the U.S. analyzed that using quantum algorithms for delivery route optimization could save 12% in annual fuel costs. These achievements are considered important examples demonstrating that quantum computing can create real business value beyond theoretical concepts.
However, challenges remain in the commercialization of quantum computing. The most significant issue is the instability of quantum states. Current quantum computers operate only in cryogenic environments (near -273°C) and are sensitive to minute changes in the external environment. Additionally, for quantum error correction, thousands of physical qubits are needed to form a single logical qubit, raising efficiency issues. As a result, the operating cost of current quantum computers reaches tens of thousands of dollars per hour, which is over 1,000 times higher than typical cloud computing services.
The shortage of talent is also a major obstacle to the development of the quantum computing industry. According to a 2025 report by McKinsey Consulting, there are only about 25,000 quantum computing specialists worldwide, but at least 100,000 will be needed by 2030. Consequently, major companies are expanding collaboration programs with universities and actively developing quantum computing education courses. IBM has established a quantum network with over 2,000 universities worldwide, providing quantum computing education opportunities to more than 500,000 students annually.
In the investment market, interest in companies related to quantum computing is significantly increasing. In the first half of 2025, global investment in quantum computing startups reached $3.5 billion, a 180% increase compared to the same period last year. Investments are particularly surging in companies developing quantum software and algorithms. Xanadu in Canada secured $100 million in investment for its photonic quantum computing technology, and Oxford Instruments in the UK is expanding its market share with dilution refrigerator technology for quantum computing.
Future growth drivers of the quantum computing market are expected to be the proliferation of cloud services and the development of specialized quantum algorithms. As most companies find it challenging to own quantum computers themselves, cloud-based quantum computing services are anticipated to become a major revenue source. Amazon’s Braket, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum, and IBM’s Quantum Network are representative services. These platforms recorded a 300% increase in monthly active users by the end of 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching 150,000 users.
In 2026, the quantum computing industry is expected to become more segmented. Competition will intensify between companies pursuing the development of general-purpose quantum computers and those developing quantum systems specialized in specific fields. Additionally, as hybrid systems combining quantum computing and traditional classical computing become commercialized, more practical quantum computing applications are expected to become feasible. Through these technological advancements and market expansion, quantum computing is transitioning from the laboratory to a core technology in actual industrial settings, marking 2025 as a turning point and becoming a new battleground in the global tech supremacy competition.
