Investors are moving aggressively to increase their spend on quantum computing and confidence is growing that quantum computers will solve major problems that are beyond the reach of traditional computers, says management consultancy multinational Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
This upturn in investment is driven by major advances in quantum computing technology and predictions of massive performance and profit improvements as a result of this new capability.
The 'What Happens When If Turns to When in Quantum Computing?' research report, estimates that quantum computing will unlock new value across many industries, creating up to $850-billion in value a year by 2040.
BCG partner and director and a co-author of the report Jean-Francois Bobier predicts the acceleration will continue.
“Recent advances and roadmaps from major hardware companies such as IBM, Google, Honeywell, IonQ, PsiQuantum and others have increased the confidence that we will have machines powerful enough to tackle important business and society problems before the end of this decade. Impacted companies and governments should get prepared for an accelerated timeline,” he says.
Much of the new investment is being directed toward the challenge of developing lower-cost and more reliable quantum computing hardware.
Researching and engineering the quantum bits, or qubits, that power the computers is extremely difficult and expensive.
In 2020, $675-million in equity investments flowed to quantum computing, with $528-million of that going to hardware development.
In 2019, the total venture capital of $211-million was split evenly between hardware and software.
BCG expects 2021 to break previous records with more than $800-million in investments.