Tom Hundley🤖 Written by Claude · Curated by Tom Hundley
I'm a tech executive and software architect—not a subject matter expert in every field I write about. I'm a generalist trying to keep up with emerging technologies like everyone else. This article was researched and written by Claude (Anthropic's AI assistant), and I've curated and reviewed it for our readers.
The United Nations declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Here's why that matters for every industry.
You've probably heard the term "quantum computing" thrown around in the same breath as AI, blockchain, and other transformative technologies. But unlike some tech buzzwords, quantum computing isn't hype—it's a fundamental shift in how computers work, and it's happening faster than most people realize.
In December 2024, Google announced that its quantum chip Willow solved a problem in under 5 minutes that would take the world's fastest supercomputer 10 septillion years to complete. That's not a typo. 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years—longer than the universe has existed.
This isn't just a laboratory curiosity. McKinsey & Company estimates that quantum computing could unlock $1.3 trillion in value across industries by 2035. The question isn't whether quantum computing will impact your business—it's when, and whether you'll be ready.
Before we dive into business implications, let's demystify what quantum computing actually is. Don't worry—you don't need a physics degree to understand this.
Your laptop, smartphone, and even the most powerful supercomputers all work the same fundamental way: they process information using "bits"—tiny switches that are either ON (1) or OFF (0). Every calculation, every photo, every email is ultimately just a massive sequence of 1s and 0s.
This approach is incredibly powerful—powerful enough to put humans on the moon, sequence the human genome, and run modern AI. But it has fundamental limits. Some problems require checking so many possibilities that even the fastest supercomputer would take millennia.
Quantum computers work differently. Instead of bits, they use "qubits" (quantum bits). Here's where it gets interesting.
The spinning coin analogy: Imagine flipping a coin. Before it lands, is it heads or tails? In a sense, it's both—a blur of possibilities. That's essentially what a qubit does. Thanks to a quantum property called "superposition," a qubit can represent 0, 1, or both simultaneously.
This might sound like a minor difference, but it's revolutionary. When you have multiple qubits working together, the number of possibilities they can explore grows exponentially. Two qubits can explore 4 possibilities at once. Ten qubits can explore 1,024. Fifty qubits can explore over one quadrillion possibilities simultaneously.
This makes quantum computers extraordinarily good at certain types of problems—specifically, problems with massive numbers of possible solutions that need to be evaluated.
There's a reason we don't all have quantum laptops. Qubits are incredibly delicate. A stray vibration, a tiny temperature fluctuation, even a cosmic ray can destroy the quantum state. This is why quantum computers are cooled to near absolute zero (colder than outer space) and isolated from all interference.
The technical term for this fragility causing errors is "decoherence." For years, this limited what quantum computers could actually do. But recent breakthroughs are changing that—which is why 2024-2025 marks such a turning point.
Three major breakthroughs have brought quantum computing from "interesting science experiment" to "prepare your business now":
The biggest challenge in quantum computing has been errors. Qubits make mistakes, and those mistakes compound. Scientists believed the solution was to use multiple physical qubits to create one reliable "logical qubit"—but adding more qubits often just added more errors.
In December 2024, Google's Willow chip achieved something scientists had pursued for 30 years: the more qubits it used for error correction, the fewer errors it produced. This breakthrough—going "below threshold"—opens the path to reliable, large-scale quantum computers.
Quantum computing is no longer theoretical for business. In 2025:
The money tells the story. Quantum computing companies raised $3.77 billion in the first nine months of 2025—nearly triple the $1.3 billion raised in all of 2024. The market has reached $1.8-3.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to hit $5.3 billion by 2029.
Not every problem benefits from quantum computing. Quantum computers won't make your email faster or improve your web browsing. They excel at specific types of problems:
When you need to find the best solution among millions or billions of possibilities:
When you need to model systems at the molecular or atomic level:
Quantum computers can potentially train certain AI models faster:
McKinsey's analysis identifies the industries most likely to benefit from quantum computing:
| Industry | Opportunity | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceuticals | Drug discovery, protein folding simulation | Near-term (2025-2030) |
| Finance | Portfolio optimization, risk analysis, fraud detection | Near-term |
| Logistics | Route optimization, supply chain management | Near-term |
| Materials Science | New materials design, battery technology | Medium-term (2028-2035) |
| Energy | Grid optimization, molecular simulation for clean energy | Medium-term |
| Cybersecurity | Post-quantum cryptography (defensive), code-breaking (threat) | Ongoing |
A Hyperion Research survey found that 61% of respondents view quantum-based optimization as integral to improving key business processes, with finance (17%), supply chain (16%), and manufacturing (14%) as top interests.
Here's the part every business leader needs to understand: quantum computing poses an existential threat to current cybersecurity.
Most internet encryption—protecting your banking, medical records, corporate secrets—relies on mathematical problems that classical computers can't solve efficiently. Quantum computers will eventually crack these like puzzles.
The threat model is called "harvest now, decrypt later." Adversaries are already collecting encrypted data today, waiting for quantum computers powerful enough to decrypt it. If that data has long-term value—trade secrets, medical records, government communications—it's already at risk.
NIST released new post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024, and the migration has begun. Google Chrome already uses quantum-resistant encryption for millions of users.
The bottom line: Your organization needs a plan for post-quantum cryptography. This isn't a 2035 problem—it's a 2025 problem.
Let's be clear-eyed about timing. Despite the breakthroughs, transformative quantum applications won't arrive overnight:
IBM's roadmap targets 2029 for "IBM Quantum Starling"—a large-scale system with 200 logical qubits running 100 million error-corrected operations.
The technology will arrive gradually, then suddenly. Organizations that prepare now will have years of advantage when it does.
Quantum computing is no longer a technology to watch from a distance. It's a technology to understand, prepare for, and begin experimenting with.
The revolution won't replace classical computing—it will complement it, solving specific problems that have been intractable for decades. Drug discovery that takes 10 years could take 2. Supply chains that "optimize" through educated guessing could truly optimize. Financial models that approximate could simulate accurately.
As McKinsey notes, "2025 will be the year quantum moves from concept to reality." The question is whether your organization will be part of that reality or scrambling to catch up.
Understanding emerging technologies is essential for business success. At Elegant Software Solutions, we help organizations navigate AI and emerging tech transformations. Contact us to discuss how quantum computing might impact your industry.
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