Quantum’s year to shine? Why 2025 marks a defining moment for science, investment and real-world impact

UNESCO’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ) sets the stage for 2025 to be quantum’s most defining year yet. But is the industry ready for take-off? Where is the smart money going, and which sectors will drive real adoption?

Marc Ambasna-Jones

The signs are already there. Quantum tech development this year is going to keep attracting commercial and financial interest. We’ve already seen the likes of Google, Microsoft, and JPMorgan Chase ramp-up their quantum ambitions, with Google’s Quantum AI team backing QuEra’s neutral atom platform and Microsoft pushing its Azure Quantum Elements initiative.

Meanwhile, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang downplayed quantum’s immediate impact, arguing it’s still too niche compared to AI. But as 2025 unfolds, could Huang’s scepticism be tested?

Here we’ve put together some recent stats to illustrate how the quantum market is evolving. We’ve also converted US dollars to UK sterling using a rate of $1 to £0.88 where relevant.

An infographic giving the following information:

DATA Insights:
Quantum’s year to shine?
UNESCO’s International Year of Quantum Science and Technology sets the stage for 2025 to be quantum’s most defining year yet. But is the industry ready for take-off? Where is the smart money going and which sectors will drive real adoption?

Market outlook
£1.1bn – £4.7bn
A report in MarketsandMarkets forecasts global quantum computing industry growth at 32.7% CAGR from 2024 to 2029 (1)

£11bn
Oxford Economics forecasts that the quantum computing industry will contribute up to £11bn to UK GDP by 2045 (3)

£11.1bn
According to Fortune Business Insights, quantum will deliver $12.6bn by 2032 (2)

2025 marks the transition from R&D to real-world implementation. But without sufficient funding, the UK risks losing its competitive edge. 
BI Foresight, “Quantum computing in 2025: risk and reward”

Where’s the investment going?
PsiQuantum – £792m (Australian government-backed for fault-tolerant quantum computing)
Quantinuum – £264m (JPMorgan Chase-backed, $5bn valuation)
UK government – £100m (UK government commitment for quantum hubs, however, lags behind the US and China)

China has already spent £13.2bn on quantum R&D (4)
While the US expects to have spent over £792m in 2024 (3)

Huang’s Nvidia perspective – quantum is highly specialised, not an AI-like growth engine – still holds, but 2025 could start proving that wrong.
BI Foresight, “The big Huang theory”

Industry hotspots
Productivity gains by 2045 (3)
Pharma 54%
Electrical manufacturing 54%
Oil & gas 46%
Financial 26%
Transport 24%

Where will quantum deliver ROI first?
Pharma & biotech: Drug discovery, molecular simulation (4)
Energy & materials: Battery innovation, sustainable manufacturing (5)
Financial services: Fraud detection, risk modelling, portfolio optimisation (6)
Logistics & transport: Quantum-driven supply chain efficiency (7)
If quantum is commercialised earlier (by 2029) the UK economy could see a £212bn productivity boost by 2045 (3)

Challenges & Opportunities
+ Hardware breakthroughs
+ UK leads in research but lacks funding to keep top talent
+ The race for post-quantum cryptography is on

- Error correction & scaling remain key hurdles
- UK talent gap
- Security risks

Quantum investment is increasingly seen as a strategic necessity, not just a commercial opportunity. BI Foresight “2025 is going back to the future”

Why 2025 matters
UNESCO’s 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Tech puts quantum in the global spotlight
Governments and enterprises are investing heavily – but will the UK keep up?
2025 could be the year quantum moves from hype to reality

PREDICTION
Quantum isn’t an AI-scale revolution yet… but 2025 could determine if it ever will be

References
Sources: (1) MarketsandMarkets Quantum Computing Market - Global Forecast to 2029 (2) Fortune Business Insights, 2024 (3) Oxford Economics, 2025 (4) Deloitte, 2024 (5) McKinsey, 2024 (6) Omdia (2024) (7) GlobalNewswire 2025).
Note: Where amounts were originally in USD, we converted to GBP at $1 = £0.88 (rate on 10/03/25)
Marc Ambasna-Jones
Marc Ambasna-Jones / Editor-in-chief

Working as a technology journalist and writer since 1989, Marc has written for a wide range of titles on technology, business, education, politics and sustainability, with work appearing in The Guardian, The Register, New Statesman, Computer Weekly and many more.

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