A quantum leap in finance How to boost Europe’s quantum technology industry

State of play: How might quantum technology 
reshape the European economy? 
What is quantum supremacy and when will we get there? 
“Imagine an early computer in the 1970s and asking it to be able to recognise voice 
and search the internet — it would be impossible. But you could use it to run 
a spreadsheet.” 
Enrique Lizaso Olmos, Multiverse chief executive officer 
Quantum supremacy is the point when a quantum computer can perform a task that even the most powerful 
supercomputer cannot complete in a realistic amount of time. Since it does not matter how useful or 
practical the task is, current trials focus on problems that could be easily solved by quantum computers, not 
necessarily tasks that would be useful in the real world.
Quantum supremacy is an important, albeit still academic, goal for developers of quantum computers and a 
step towards fulfilling the technology’s promises. Google claimed to have reached this point in 2019 with its 
53-qubit machine. IBM and other researchers, however, challenged the claim with a different mathematical 
approach to complete the calculation just as fast with a classical computer.
 Other claims of quantum supremacy have followed, by teams from the University of Science and Technology 
of China (USTC) with a 56-qubit computer in 2021 and Xanadu, a Canadian quantum computing company, in 
2022.
 It is still unclear how many qubits will confer true quantum advantage in practical applications. Some 
researchers put the minimum at 1 000 qubits and the timeline for achieving this around a decade from now.8
New ways to manipulate qubits or alternative methods for quantum computing may emerge and bring this 
reality closer. 
However, increases in computing power will need to be matched by better correction of decoherence errors 
and other quantum noise. A quantum computer needs to be fully error-corrected and fault-tolerant in order 
to provide mathematically accurate, practically useable results. Progress in this area has been slow.
Quantum technologies are divided into three main segments
• Quantum computing and simulation is the largest segment and has attracted nearly 85% of quantum 
technology investments over the past two decades. The principles of quantum mechanics enable quantum 
computers to make calculations that are currently not feasible even for powerful supercomputers. One 
special-purpose type of quantum computer, the quantum simulator, can replicate the properties of complex 
systems (such as molecular interactions) that could previously only be tested in the real world. 
• Quantum communication is the second largest segment, accounting for 13-14% of total investments in the 
quantum industry. Quantum communication refers to both the transfer of quantum information across space 
to enable parallel and remote computation, and the secure transfer of data. Quantum cryptography could

ensure security of communications and data, even in the face of rapidly increasing quantum computing 
decryption capabilities.
• Quantum sensing is the smallest segment, making up 1-2% of all investments in the quantum industry. 
Quantum sensors are built from quantum systems that provide measurements of important physical 
quantities (for example gravity, time or force) that are orders of magnitude smaller and more accurate than

Hardware dominates the quantum computing value chain now, but 
the focus will shift to software and services as the sector matures 
The quantum computing value chain is similar to its classical computing counterpart: Component and hardware 
manufacturers make the quantum computing equipment and software developers and service providers build 
and deploy end-user applications for it. Quantum computing power or services can be accessed by purchasing 
and installing hardware and systems software, or through cloud-based services that complete the environment 
(see Figure 2). 
The biggest market segment today is the hardware market, which has attracted an estimated 75% of all 
investment in quantum technologies over the last two decades. Component manufacturers currently capture 
most of the industry’s revenues and margins because components can be installed in multiple hardware setups. 
Quantum computer manufacturers and software developers still generate revenue primarily through consulting 
services and joint research projects. 
As commercial applications emerge over the next five to ten years, hardware and software providers are 
expected to capture the bulk of the value. As quantum computers and software become more standardised, we 
expect applications and services to take a bigger slice of the sector’s profitability. Nevertheless, hardware is 
expected to remain the biggest segment and benefit from lower costs as the technology and production 
processes mature.

A quantum leap in finance How to boost Europe’s quantum technology industry