Quantum computing is no longer just an emerging technology. More than 300 global companies have adopted it, fueling a multibillion-dollar market, note McKinsey Partner Henning Soller and coauthors. Investors are also recognizing quantum computing’s commercial promise, with investment in quantum technology start-ups reaching $12.6 billion in 2025, 6.3 times higher than in 2024. In 2024, one-third of investment came from public sources, compared with just 3 percent in 2025. As capital concentrates, technical road maps advance, the ecosystem begins to consolidate, and the cost of inaction is likely to rise. The companies making the most progress today are treating quantum as a capability to be built, not a breakthrough to wait for.
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Line chart showing annual investment in quantum technology start-ups from 2019–2025, split between private funding and government/institutional funding (billions of US dollars). Private investment rises from about $0.2 billion in 2019 to roughly $2.1 billion in 2021, remains near $1–2 billion through 2024, then surges to approximately $12.3 billion in 2025. Government and institutional investment remains comparatively low throughout the period, ranging from about $0.1 billion to $0.7 billion and ending near $0.3 billion in 2025. The chart highlights that the 2025 funding boom in quantum technology start-ups was driven overwhelmingly by private capital-market and venture investments.
Source: PitchBook
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