Globally, the quantum scene is fragmented. The UK jumped in early, launching its National Quantum Programme<\/a> in 2014, backing four major hubs and startups such as Orca Computing and Universal Quantum. London recently pledged \u00a32.5\u202fbillion through the next decade. Canada, Japan, and Israel are betting on hybrid firepower \u2013 combining public money, private investment, and academic power. Canada is investing<\/a> $264\u202fmillion in over 100 projects nationwide; Japan is directing almost half a billion dollars to centralized R&D hubs<\/a> in Tsukuba; and Israel\u2019s National Quantum Center<\/a> unites government, universities, and agile startups.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the main competition remains between Europe, the US, and China. In quantum, Europe punches above its tech weight. It is home to eight of the nineteen new quantum ventures launched globally in 2024. Hardware frontrunners like IQM Quantum Computers, Alice\u202f&\u202fBob, and Pasqal \u2013 are now joined by a growing constellation of emerging players, evidence of Europe\u2019s deep scientific roots turning into commercial momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n The European Commission recently unveiled a sweeping Quantum Strategy<\/a>. It advances public funds for six quantum chip pilot factories and rolls out a continent-wide Quantum Skills Academy to help train tomorrow\u2019s workforce. \u00a0<\/p>\n But will this strong public ambition collide against weak private reality? Europe has committed over \u20ac11 billion since 2018 yet attracts just 5% of global private quantum investment, compared to the US with 50%. An EU-private hybrid fund<\/a> is on the way in 2026 to tackle this private funding shortfall. \u00a0<\/p>\n The US model wields speed, scale, and getting to market first. Private players such as IBM, Google, Microsoft, IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave Quantum have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into hardware, software, and quantum-as-a-service. The policy is ruthlessly agile: startups race ahead, and the Pentagon is ramping up interest on quantum, targeting secure comms, and next-gen cryptography.\u00a0<\/p>\n The US private sector is rushing forward, announcing breakthrough after breakthrough. Microsoft reported<\/a> this year that it had built what is known as a \u201ctopological qubit,\u201d a new kind of computer chip that combines the strengths of the semiconductors that power classical computers with the superconductors that are typically used to build a quantum computer. Earlier, Google unveiled<\/a> a quantum computer, based on a computer chip called Willow, that \u201cneeded less than five minutes to perform a mathematical calculation that one of the world\u2019s most powerful supercomputers could not complete in 10 septillion years, a length of time that exceeds the age of the known universe.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGet the Latest\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSign up to receive regular Bandwidth emails and stay informed about CEPA’s work.\t\t<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the large American companies who are making breakthroughs \u2013\u00a0D-Wave Quantum, founded in Canada and now publicly listed in the US, recently claimed<\/a> quantum advantage on a real-world optimization problem, solving it in minutes \u2013 compared to a classical system that would have taken millennia. Its breakthroughs in quantum annealing, a special type of quantum computing that helps find the best solution to complex problems, are already being deployed in logistics, manufacturing, and traffic systems, making it one of the few delivering real-world results today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n China is the third giant in the quantum race. Beijing is going big with $15 billion<\/a> in state-led funding for quantum and a colossal $138\u202fbillion government-backed hard-tech venture fund<\/a> spanning AI, quantum, hydrogen, and more \u2013 outspending the rest in its bid for long-term dominance. By comparison, US federal funding to date remains near $6\u202fbillion, while the EU has mobilized more than \u20ac11\u202fbillion in public quantum investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quantum investment is shifting from science to scale. In Q1 2025 alone, $1.25\u202fbillion<\/a> flowed into quantum firms \u2013 70% of last year\u2019s total in just three months. With projections<\/a> hitting $173\u202fbillion by 2040, quantum is no longer just frontier tech, it\u2019s becoming an economic and geopolitical force.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democratic allies coordinate R&D and standards via the OECD<\/a> and G7<\/a>, but export controls and supply chain barriers are rising. The US is clamping down on quantum tech exports to China; Europe enforces export rules on goods, software, and technologies with dual-use<\/a> civilian and military potential; China drives ahead with state-backed, closed supply chains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In this fractured battlefield, interoperability and trust are not afterthoughts, they\u2019re the new front in the fight for strategic advantage. Whoever sets the standards and builds the networks doesn\u2019t just shape technology \u2013 they command its control. Control over quantum infrastructure means long-term geopolitical leverage, just like the digital dominance US and Chinese tech giants now command.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Europe, quantum offers a rare chance to reset its industrial destiny, before it\u2019s locked into dependence on the US or China. The race won\u2019t be won with a splash of cash or a one-off policy push. It\u2019ll be decided over the next decade by those who can scale usable systems, shape the rules and standards of trust, and secure the supply chains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Padraig Nolan<\/a>\u202fis a Non-resident Fellow with the Tech Policy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of ETPPA, a prominent EU fintech association. He is also an advisory\u202fboard member of the Lisbon-based Europe Startup Nations Alliance. Padraig holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in law and economics (University of Galway) and a master\u2019s degree in European law (Utrecht University).\u00a0<\/p>\n Bandwidth<\/a> is CEPA\u2019s online journal dedicated to advancing transatlantic cooperation on tech policy. All opinions expressed on Bandwidth are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.\u00a0CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n CEPA Europe\u2019s Tech & Security Conference in Brussels.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\tRead More From Bandwidth\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCEPA\u2019s online journal dedicated to advancing transatlantic cooperation on tech policy.\t\t<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Featured-Image-Chips-1400x933.jpg\"\/)
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