State of Quantum 2026

Key Takeaways:

• Quantum computing (QC) is advancing from research into early commercial applications, with promising use cases in drug discovery, materials science, manufacturing, logistics, and transportation.
• Optimization and simulation are expected to be among the first high-value quantum applications, helping organizations solve complex problems beyond the capabilities of traditional computing.
• Investor confidence is growing rapidly, with quantum attracting significant funding and projected to become a multibillion-dollar industry over the next decade.
• Three critical challenges remain: supply chain scalability, workforce development, and industry standards, all of which will influence the pace of commercialization.
• Collaboration among government, industry, and academia is accelerating ecosystem development through funding, standards initiatives, and workforce programs.

2026 Quantum Computing Industry Foundations

The artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing (QC) industries are expected to dominate our future in just about every major sector, yet only one of them seems to be dominating the headlines today. AI, which was explicitly mentioned in over 65% of recent S&P500 quarterly reports, is the undeniable center of the deep-tech universe right now. But what is happening in the QC space?

Our team had the opportunity to attend the 2026 ANSI Innovation Summit in Denver this year, with the Summit's core focus on developing standards for frontier AI and QC industries. With the ANSI Summit bringing together experts in industry, academia, and government heavily involved in QC, we saw the full scope of where quantum is headed, the problems faced today, and specifically how the standards industry is attempting to stay ahead of the growth curve.

During three fascinating panel sessions at ANSI, we heard from some of the people with boots on the ground in the budding QC industry, including:

• Austin Lin, the head of the U.S. delegation for ISO/IEC JTC 3 (Quantum Technologies)

• Yoonchae Cheong, Ph.D., the Director, Korea-U.S. Quantum Technology Cooperation Center
• Chris Monroe, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientist, IonQ
• Scott Davis, Ph.D., CEO and Co-founder, Vescent Technologies
• Jessi Olsen, CEO, Elevate Quantum

The First Wave of Commercial Applications

To understand the promise that QC brings, we need to define what this technology is. Even industry experts have a hard time agreeing on the specifics here, but IBM provides an easy-to-digest breakdown of the basics.

QC has the potential to "solve certain problems in minutes or hours that would otherwise take conventional machines millennia to complete," relying on the fundamentals of physics at an extremely small scale (AKA quantum mechanics). With this ultra-high compute capability, QC shows potential in a myriad of industries and applications.

Drug Discovery & Materials

Since QC is based on the fundamentals of quantum mechanics, one of the great potential applications is in modeling complex physical systems, or as IBM puts it:

Quantum mechanics is a bit like the operating system of the universe. A computer that uses quantum mechanical principles to process information has certain advantages in modeling physical systems. Therefore, QC is of particular interest for chemistry and material science applications.

Chemical modeling requires tracking tens of thousands or millions of variables across a multitude of scenarios and environments. Even the world's greatest supercomputers struggle to compute these models in a useful timeframe. For example, unlocking the ability to simulate complex chemical interactions has the potential to accelerate the pharmaceutical industry well beyond our current limitations.

Manufacturing Optimization

One of the highly discussed promises of QC during the ANSI Summit was the general ability to optimize workflows across all sectors. One example used during the Quantum Economics panel was the potential for improving large-scale manufacturing efficiencies.

A quantum computer, capable of computing an unthinkable number of variables, could output a maximally optimized assembly line layout for a new vehicle run, achieving tangible savings for these manufacturers in just a matter of hours or days. 

Logistics & Transportation

In a similar vein to manufacturing, the logistics industry could see massive improvements and advancements in their delivery efficiencies simply by running quantum-powered models to analyze previously unattainable data sets. According to the 2026 McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor, which monitors the economic opportunities over the next decade, the logistics and transportation industry alone has the opportunity for $200B-$500B in value-add from QC. 

At the vast scale of our international logistics systems, for both passengers and freight, even minor efficiency improvements brought on by quantum applications will enable large-scale savings. Existing organizations, like Signal Mine, are already providing commercialized solutions across industries.

Shipbuilding & Maritime

There are currently major efficiency gaps in fleet and cargo logistics, like vessel routing optimization around weather patterns, traffic congestion, and fuel costs. With the frequently changing landscape across our oceans, it can be difficult to achieve fully optimized routes using current compute technology.

Ship-building and shipyard management is another industry eagerly awaiting widespread adoption. The ability to simulate quantum mechanics of materials can accelerate the development of higher strength-to-weight steels, alloys, and coatings for commercial ship hulls. Beyond the advancements in the materials science behind ship-building, great improvements can be applied to shipyard logistics, a backbone to our modern economy.

Capital is Betting on Quantum

Momentum is building; QC's potential is attracting the attention of investors, tech accelerators, and engineering graduates across the country. According to McKinsey, the 2025 investments in quantum totaled $17.6B, while the 2035 projected revenue for quantum ranges between $43B and $71B.

From 2019 to 2024, investment in quantum was relatively steady. McKinsey shows $2B or less from both private and government funding sources annually. However, something shifted between 2024 and 2025: due to capital market influx, private funding for QC saw a more than 6x increase, exceeding $12B. QC startups received 90% of these funds, while the remaining 10% went to the more established quantum measurement and communication industries.

As we heard during the Denver ANSI Summit, Colorado is becoming a hotbed for QC startups. Over 70 purely quantum companies currently operate between Colorado and New Mexico, supported by the budding accelerators (like Elevate) and investor network focused there. Caruso Ventures, which had a presence at the ANSI Summit, is just one of many trying to find the next QC "unicorn". 

Large-scale adoption of QC has been slow-going over the past couple of decades, yet investor interest is growing rapidly; but why? Much like a flywheel, there is a glacially slow initial push that is required to get the whole system moving. In QC's case, the ecosystem around this technology needs large-scale investment and R&D before the flywheel can begin spinning at full speed (commercialization at scale).

Industry Parallels: QC vs. Semiconductor

Often in the QC industry, experts draw comparisons to the semiconductor industry of the 1950s and 60s. During these decades, technology companies on the frontier of development were working on building microcomputer chips with silicon-based components. They understood the technology had enormous potential, but its ultimate commercial applications were not yet clear. At that time, engineers were excited to calculate simple mathematical functions at the push of a button, let alone a massive worldwide communication network, powerful smartphones in our pocket, advanced medical devices that save lives, and so much more just 50 years later.

Government & Private Investment

The semiconductor industry shares many of the early foundational hurdles that QC is facing today. Achieving adequate funding to build the ecosystem for commercial success took a collaborative approach. The US Congress' research on the semiconductor industry illustrates the importance of federal funding combined with private resources to build momentum. For example, in 1963 government procurement of microchips was 95% of total demand. By 1965, that had fallen to less than 75%. And in that time, the average cost per microchip had fallen from $50 to $9! This early government demand gave semiconductor manufacturers the market they needed to scale production and drive down costs during the industry's expensive early development phase.

It is the hope of the QC industry that the same support is achieved today. Things are pointing in that direction: In 2018, Congress enacted the National Quantum Initiative Act, which directed the President to establish a 10-year plan to accelerate development of quantum information science and technology applications in the US.

Three Bottlenecks Defining Quantum's Next Decade

Due to its relative immaturity, the quantum industry finds itself in multiple 'chicken & egg' scenarios, stuck in the circular dilemma of, "which will come first?" along the path to full-scale commercialization. We identified three areas within this budding sector where something needs to give to achieve the next stage of growth:

Supply Chain

The Chicken: Large-scale manufacturing via mature supply chain.

The Egg: Large enough demand to support a vast supply chain network.

Austin Lin, who moderated one of the main panel discussions at the ANSI Summit, broke down the supply chain issues succinctly when he said that it all comes down to "cost, risk, and capacity."

• Cost: All quantum products are essentially custom and bespoke, which is costly to produce vs. mass production.
• Risk: With limited vendors actually manufacturing these components, quantum companies must rely on just one or two manufacturing partners, which exposes them to significant supply chain risk.
• Capacity: Since manufacturing is generally limited to small runs for these components, manufacturers have a difficult time scaling when the time comes to meet demand growth.

As funding grows, quantum startups can begin tackling the cost, risk, and capacity hurdles as commercialization scales.

Workforce

The Chicken: Educated and trained technicians ready to meet the demand of quantum companies.

The Egg: Enough durable industry demand for universities to justify building dedicated quantum programs.

QC is an industry that many new grads might not even know exists. It is going to take persistent effort and cooperation between industry and universities to fill the talent pool pipeline long-term. Accelerators like Elevate Quantum work side-by-side with educators to develop curricula and certification programs to bolster the talent pool.

Most of the focus now is on building the pathway for technical talent, since demand from quantum companies still outweighs the supply substantially. However, between the techs that come on board from university, and the founder-engineers who start quantum companies, there is still often a very limited understanding of supply chain, sales, or marketing to round out full-scale commercialization. Many of these teams end up pigeon-holed into an engineering mindset, struggling to fill the gap between engineering and marketing.

Industry Standards

The Chicken: Standards mature enough for buyers to compare vendors and commit.

The Egg: Enough competing approaches to know what's worth standardizing.

Shared industry standards are an important development for the long-term commercialization and success of the quantum industry, but applying too many standards too early in the commercialization lifecycle can stifle innovation and competition. Striking the right balance to enable a common taxonomy among quantum companies will reduce friction in the buying process for major buyers like IBM or Alphabet and help grow demand.

Elevate Quantum is in this fight as well, partnering with NIST to help determine common component benchmarks, so quantum firms can be compared apples-to-apples, giving buyers a clearer understanding of available technology and standardizing the RFQ process across the industry.

The Launch Team Approach

For many quantum companies, commercialization challenges extend beyond engineering. Founders and technical teams are often tasked with explaining complex technologies, differentiating their approach, attracting investors, and building market demand in an industry that is still defining itself.

1. Identify the Highest-Value Applications

   Not every potential use case is equally viable. We help companies prioritize the markets, industries, and customer segments where their technology can solve meaningful problems and create the strongest path to commercialization.

2. Translate Technical Complexity into Business Value

   Quantum technologies are inherently complex, but buyers, investors, and partners ultimately care about outcomes. Effective messaging connects technical innovation to measurable business impact, competitive advantage, and real-world applications.

3. Build Credibility Through Thought Leadership

   In emerging industries, trust matters. Educational content, technical resources, conference visibility, and industry expertise help position your company as a credible leader in a rapidly evolving market.

4. Reach the Right Stakeholders

   Quantum purchasing decisions often involve researchers, engineers, executives, investors, and government stakeholders. Developing audience-specific messaging ensures each group understands the value your technology delivers.

The Next Step for QC Companies

The quantum industry is reaching a critical stage where investment, standards development, workforce initiatives, and commercial applications are converging. As competition increases, companies that combine technical excellence with clear positioning and market visibility will be best positioned to capture emerging opportunities.

Launch Team helps quantum computing, quantum sensing, enabling technology, and advanced photonics companies build awareness, generate demand, and develop commercialization strategies that support long-term growth.

Ready to strengthen your quantum market strategy? Schedule a free consultation to discuss your goals and opportunities.