While those within the quantum industry have noticed its significant expansion, market-leading quantum computing company Zapata Computing’s new report gives the data to validate this. In its Second Annual Report on Enterprise Quantum Computing Adoption, Zapata looked at the trends and growing relationships coming from quantum computing, ranging from cybersecurity to the integration of systems.
In their exhaustive report, the company found a higher-than-expected number of companies looking to adopt quantum technology into their business, which implies success for the industry as a whole. According to the report, the majority (71%) of quantum-adopting enterprises surveyed have current quantum computing budgets of more than $1 million, which is 2.5 times larger than the same variables measured in 2021. This significant increase reveals that the industry is growing at a faster rate than expected and that companies outside of the industry are already creating a budget specifically for this next-generation technology. “We’re getting a unique glimpse into the quantum adoption mindset of global enterprise executives, which mirrors what we’re seeing in our customer base,” said Christopher Savoie, CEO, and Co-founder of Zapata Computing in the company’s press release. “These findings become more interesting when compared to the data we saw last year. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen significant new developments in technology, particularly generative AI, and near-term advantages from quantum-inspired technologies that are fueling the momentum for quantum computing planning and adoption. As a result, more enterprises are exploring what’s possible with the hybrid quantum-classical compute capabilities of today and how the potential of quantum computing may impact their competitive position — and ultimately their business results.”
The Results of the Zapata Computing Report Suggest a Maturity in the Industry
Because of the increasing numbers of partnerships and budget allocations, Zapata’s team has found that the industry is maturing at a faster pace than may have been expected. According to Katherine Londergan, CMO of Zapata: “We’re excited to see more enterprises making a commitment to quantum computing, dedicating more significant budgets, and taking tactical steps to implement this technology. It’s no longer just an R&D exercise, and we’re already seeing tangible results that could soon provide business improvements across a variety of industries. Our study shows that the adoption of quantum computing is accelerating year-over-year, so quantum computing companies must ensure that we can help enterprises transition from classical to quantum. Much of this will come down to offering flexible solutions and enabling an interoperable quantum-classical infrastructure for customers.”
With this maturity comes more specialization in quantum computing applications. For example, Zapata Computing found that 65% of respondents are concerned with post-quantum cryptography, and 63% are currently actively participating in methods to safeguard against this potential hazard, including partnering with quantum computing vendors. Other specializations focus on quantum machine learning (QML) which was found to be the top use case for quantum computing, from 55% of respondents in 2021 focusing on this to 77% in 2022.
One interesting result of the Zapata Computing report also found that quantum computing is being adopted at a faster rate than artificial intelligence. According to the press release: “Nearly half (49%) of respondents say they are deploying quantum more quickly than they did with AI, with only 17% indicating they’re taking a slower pace.” This faster adoption may shift parts of the industry, especially for QML applications, but it’s still too soon to tell. What can be expected is that quantum computing companies taking advantage of this significant growth and interest by outside industries, leading to more networking and partnerships in the future.
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is a staff writer at Inside Quantum Technology and the Science Communicator at JILA (a partnership between the University of Colorado Boulder and NIST). Her writing beats include deep tech, the metaverse, and quantum technology.