The Year of Quantum Computing Commercialization: 2025 Global Market Trends and South Korea’s Strategic Response
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The year 2025 marks a historic turning point as the quantum computing industry shifts from the experimental phase to commercialization. The global quantum computing market is expected to grow from $1.9 billion in 2024 to $2.8 billion in 2025, a 47% increase, and the industry anticipates continued high growth with a compound annual growth rate of 32.1% reaching $12.5 billion by 2030. Particularly in 2025, practical applications of quantum computing are materializing in various industries such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and logistics, proving the commercial value of the technology.
The core of quantum computing technology lies in its ability to process information using qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously by leveraging the principles of superposition and entanglement in quantum mechanics, unlike traditional computers that use bits in states of 0 and 1. This enables quantum computers to perform calculations thousands to millions of times faster than traditional supercomputers for specific problems. As of 2025, commercial quantum computers, typically ranging from 50 to 1000 qubits, are beginning to show tangible results in areas such as cryptography, drug discovery, financial portfolio optimization, and traffic flow optimization.
IBM, headquartered in Armonk, New York, has established itself as a leading company in the commercialization of quantum computing. Currently, over 200 institutions worldwide are part of IBM’s quantum network, and as of the third quarter of 2025, IBM announced a 340% year-over-year increase in quantum computer usage time. Notably, IBM unveiled the 4000-qubit quantum computer ‘Flamingo’ in October 2025, taking a step ahead in the quantum supremacy race. IBM’s quantum computing division revenue is projected to grow from $500 million in 2024 to an estimated $820 million in 2025, a 64% increase.
Google (Alphabet), based in Mountain View, California, is also fiercely competing with IBM in the quantum computing field. After declaring the achievement of ‘Quantum Supremacy’ in 2019, Google announced a breakthrough in error correction technology with its ‘Willow’ quantum chip in 2025. Google’s quantum computer demonstrated performance 10^25 times faster than traditional supercomputers for specific calculations, solving problems in minutes that would take longer than the age of the universe. Alphabet’s quantum computing business, part of its ‘Other Bets’ division, attracted $400 million in investment in the first half of 2025.
Strategic Entry of South Korean Companies into the Quantum Computing Ecosystem
South Korean companies are also accelerating their entry into the quantum computing market. Samsung Electronics, headquartered in Suwon, announced its full-scale entry into the development of semiconductor devices for quantum computing in 2025, with plans to invest 3 trillion won over the next five years focusing on quantum processors and control chips. Samsung Electronics is particularly strong in developing cryogenic semiconductors for dilution refrigerators and microwave chips for quantum state control, key components of quantum computers. In the third quarter of 2025, Samsung Electronics formed a partnership with IBM for joint development of quantum semiconductors, aiming to release its first quantum processor prototype in the first half of 2026.
SK Telecom is focusing on the quantum cryptography communication sector as a telecommunications infrastructure company. In 2025, SK Telecom completed the construction of a quantum cryptography communication network between Seoul and Busan and commercialized quantum security services for financial institutions and government agencies. SK Telecom’s quantum business revenue increased from 15 billion won in 2024 to 38 billion won in 2025, a 2.5-fold increase, with a target to surpass 100 billion won in 2026. SK Telecom is investing 20 billion won annually in advancing Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology to close the technology gap with the University of Science and Technology of China and Japan’s NTT.
LG Electronics is focusing on developing quantum algorithms and software platforms rather than quantum computing hardware. In 2025, LG Electronics launched the quantum simulation platform ‘Q-Sim,’ providing manufacturers an environment to test quantum algorithms without quantum computers. LG Electronics’ quantum software division recorded 5 billion won in revenue in 2025, primarily used for optimizing automotive battery design and developing display materials. LG Electronics plans to significantly enhance the AI performance of smart home appliances through the commercialization of quantum machine learning algorithms by 2026.
The rise of China in the global quantum computing competition is also noteworthy. The ‘Zuchongzhi’ quantum computer developed by the University of Science and Technology of China demonstrated performance comparable to Google’s ‘Sycamore’ with 66 qubits, and the Chinese government announced a $10 billion investment in the quantum technology sector by 2025. Japan, in collaboration with IBM, established a quantum computing center in Tokyo, and the quantum simulator jointly developed by Fujitsu and RIKEN has begun commercial services. The European Union is investing 1 billion euros over ten years through the ‘Quantum Flagship’ program, with Germany’s IQM and France’s Pasqal leading the development of European quantum computers.
Industry-specific Quantum Computing Applications and Market Opportunities
The practicality of quantum computing is first being proven in the financial services sector. JP Morgan Chase announced in 2025 that it reduced portfolio optimization time from 24 hours to 15 minutes using IBM’s quantum computer. Goldman Sachs improved the accuracy of derivative pricing by 30% through quantum Monte Carlo simulations, resulting in an annual cost saving of $200 million. South Korea’s KB Financial Group began adopting SK Telecom’s quantum cryptography communication system in the second half of 2025 to enhance security for high-value transactions, and Shinhan Financial Group initiated the development of a credit evaluation model using quantum algorithms.
The pharmaceutical industry is also realizing the innovative potential of quantum computing. Roche announced that it reduced the discovery time for Alzheimer’s drug candidates from five years to 18 months using Google’s quantum computer. Biogen improved the success rate of new drug development from 12% to 23% by accurately predicting protein folding processes through quantum simulations. In South Korea, Celltrion partnered with IBM in September 2025 to introduce quantum computing in biosimilar development, expecting to reduce development time by 30% and costs by 40%.
Quantum computing commercialization is accelerating in logistics and supply chain optimization. Germany’s Volkswagen adopted D-Wave’s quantum annealing computer for traffic flow optimization in 2025, achieving a 25% reduction in traffic congestion in pilot projects conducted in Lisbon and Beijing. Amazon saved $1.5 billion annually in logistics costs by optimizing delivery routes using quantum computing, equivalent to 8% of its total logistics costs. In South Korea, CJ Logistics plans to start testing a quantum algorithm-based delivery optimization system by the end of 2025, expecting to improve last-mile delivery efficiency by 20%.
However, significant technical challenges remain in the commercialization of quantum computing. The most significant issue is Quantum Error Correction. Current quantum computers are at the ‘NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum)’ stage, where qubit quantum states are highly unstable, leading to high error rates. IBM’s latest quantum computer has a gate error rate of 0.1%, which needs to be reduced to below 0.001% for practical quantum algorithm implementation. Additionally, maintaining the cryogenic environment required for quantum computer operation (close to absolute zero at -273°C) costs $10,000 per hour, making economic viability a crucial challenge.
The shortage of quantum software talent is also an urgent issue. Globally, there are estimated to be fewer than 5,000 experts capable of developing quantum algorithms, with more than half concentrated in the US and Europe. In South Korea, there are fewer than 100 PhD-level personnel related to quantum computing, making talent acquisition critical in the global competition. In response, Samsung Electronics launched a quantum computing expert training program with KAIST and POSTECH in 2025, aiming to train 500 quantum engineers over the next five years.
From an investment perspective, the quantum computing industry is transitioning from speculative investment to a stage of creating substantial value starting in 2025. Venture capital investment increased from $2.4 billion in 2024 to $3.5 billion in 2025, a 46% increase, with investments in quantum software and algorithms accounting for 60% of the total. Government investment is also expanding, with the US investing $1.2 billion annually through the National Quantum Initiative, China constructing a $15 billion quantum science center, and the European Union investing 1 billion euros through the Quantum Flagship program. The South Korean government announced a 500 billion won investment in quantum technology development in 2025, a 67% increase from the previous year.
From the second half of 2025, competition in cloud services within the quantum computing market is intensifying. Major cloud providers such as IBM Quantum Network, Google Quantum AI, Amazon Braket, and Microsoft Azure Quantum are commercializing quantum computing services, enabling companies to utilize quantum algorithms without building their own quantum computers. This cloud quantum computing market is projected to grow from $800 million in 2025 to $4.5 billion by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 41%. This offers South Korean companies the opportunity to leverage quantum computing technology without the initial investment burden, accelerating the adoption of quantum computing by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The future success of the quantum computing industry hinges on achieving Practical Quantum Advantage. This means demonstrating clear cost efficiency over traditional computers in solving real business problems, not just theoretically faster calculations. Industry experts predict that the first practical quantum advantage will be achieved in financial portfolio optimization and drug development around 2026-2027. Subsequently, quantum computing’s practical advantage is expected to be demonstrated in cryptography by 2028 and in artificial intelligence and machine learning by 2030. For South Korean companies, it remains crucial to secure competitiveness in the global quantum ecosystem through timely investments and partnerships without missing these technological transition points.
This analysis is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice or a recommendation of specific stocks. Investment decisions should be made based on individual judgment and responsibility.
