Enterprise quantum spending hits $300 million, outpacing labs

Companies burned by the AI boom are pouring money into quantum computing before the technology matures.

Enterprise users spent $300 million on quantum computing in 2025, for the first time outranking the combined spending of research labs and governments, according to a Boston Consulting Group report.

"The fact that many companies weren't ready to take advantage of new AI models when they became available is driving some of the early preparation this time around," Matt Langione, managing director, partner and global lead of quantum technologies at BCG, said.

BCG surveyed the top 25 global companies by market cap across 11 industries — including healthcare, financial services and energy — for a total sample of 275 companies. It found that 62 percent were spending at least $1 million a year on quantum and had a designated program. Businesses split spending between internal efforts such as hiring quantum talent and external work like developing use cases with vendors and paying to experiment with quantum computers in the cloud.

Quantum computers use the principles of quantum physics to solve problems beyond the reach of today's best supercomputers, promising to reshape financial trading, shipping logistics, pharmaceuticals, data encryption, insurance and internet delivery. When that happens remains unclear, but public-market interest in the technology and the hangover from a lack of AI readiness are inciting enterprise investment this year, Langione said.

Allstate has a team of 10 people working on quantum with plans to expand, said Tom Wilson, chair, president and chief executive. The researchers are exploring use cases for competitive advantage, including evaluating complex risk factors — such as the specific type and age of shingles on a homeowner's roof — to price policies more precisely. "In our business, precision is what creates value," Wilson said.

HSBC runs a quantum team "in the order of tens" of researchers and engineers across London, Singapore and India, according to Philip Intallura, the company's group head of quantum. Last year it demonstrated a bond optimization use case on International Business Machines' quantum computers, showing up to a 34 percent improvement in predicting whether a trade would fill at a quoted price versus common classical techniques. Intallura said HSBC has since signed another deal with IBM to investigate scaling that use case into production. Most of the team's recent growth, however, is defensive — ensuring the bank's systems are protected if a quantum computer emerges that can break today's encryption. "There is urgency around it, because we've got to do the transition before a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is developed," he said.

Most companies access quantum compute through the cloud from IBM and Amazon Web Services, Langione said. A few are buying their own hardware. EY last month purchased a quantum computer now hosted in Toronto, building use cases and learning tools with a dedicated team to advise clients. EY declined to name the provider or price, but confirmed the purchase was part of its $3 billion commitment to AI and other frontier technologies. Raj Sharma, EY global managing partner for growth and innovation, said the purchase followed more quantum-related inquiries from top-tier clients. "Nobody wants to fall behind," Sharma said.

The spending shift benefits quantum vendors including IBM and Amazon Web Services, which monetize access through cloud subscriptions, and positions early movers like HSBC and Allstate to capture efficiency gains before rivals. But the timeline to commercial value remains uncertain — BCG's own survey found most programs are still in experimentation, not production. For investors, the $300 million enterprise outlay is small against the billions flowing into AI, yet it marks the first time corporate budgets, not government grants, are funding the technology's advance.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.