One of the key factors fuelling the popularity of quantum computing is the rising number of government initiatives, including major investments aimed at supporting quantum information processing and other quantum computing research and development (R&D) activities. For instance, in China, the government has invested $10 billion on the development of a national laboratory for quantum research in Hefei, with an aim to make it operational this year. In addition to this, there have also been huge investments for the development of quantum technology by major private companies across the globe.
For instance, Microsoft Corporation and Google LLC are two of the most well-known North American companies which are vigorously working on the rapid advancement and commercialization of the quantum computing technology. In addition to this, Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a leading e-commerce company based in China, is building a laboratory that would be dedicated to the development of the technology in the country. Due to these factors, the global quantum computing market is projected to advance at a CAGR of 33.1% during the forecast period (2020–2030) and see an increase in its revenue, from $89.6 million in 2019 to $1,866.8 million by 2030.
This technology is offered through hardware, software, and services, out of which the hardware component recorded the highest demand in 2019. This is primarily attributed to the burgeoning demand for robust hardware equipment that can be used for quantum computing and lack of such equipment in the market. However, this is expected to change soon, owing to the huge investments made by major companies for the development of hardware equipment.
Quantum computing is used in a wide array of applications, such as in the optimization of business operations, in sampling processes, machine learning, and simulation and data problems. Amongst these, the adoption of quantum computing was found to be the highest in the optimization processes of business operations in 2019. This is ascribed to the fact that most of the organizational problems in companies can be solved by streamlining and optimizing the business operations.
The quantum computing market is currently witnessing the rising simulation of quantum systems in order to improve the study and understanding of various natural phenomena and quantum mechanics. Many major companies are fervently working on the numerical simulation of quantum systems boasting a higher processing power, which will be extremely crucial for the greater understanding of quantum physics and help in accurately solving the complex problems and equations pertaining to the important fields of quantum chemistry and superconducting materials.
Geographically, the highest adoption of quantum computing was observed in North America in 2019, mainly due to the large-scale investments by government and private firms for the rapid development of this technology. For instance, the U.S. congress adopted the National Quantum Initiative in January 2019, which authorized an investment of more than $1.2 billion over the next 5 to 10 years for the development of quantum science and technology in the country.
Thus, due to the surging government initiatives and investments and the escalating need for an advanced technology that would improve the efficiency of business operations, the demand for quantum computing is set to witness huge growth in future.
