The United Nations doesn't declare International Years lightly.
When the General Assembly designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, they signaled something most C-suite executives are only now fully grasping: quantum computing has crossed from theoretical physics into strategic necessity.
Over 1,200 participants, including multiple Nobel Prize laureates, gathered at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris in early 2025 to launch the initiative. This wasn't an academic celebration. It was a recognition that quantum technology addresses the world's most pressing challenges—from sustainable development to cybersecurity—and the window for strategic positioning is closing fast.
I've spent 20+ years watching technology cycles. I've seen the hype machines spin up around cloud, big data, and AI. I've watched executives bet wrong on timing, and I've watched others capture massive advantages by moving early.
This moment is different.
The Feedback Loop That Changes Everything
Here's what caught my attention: AI and quantum computing aren't just complementary technologies. They're creating a feedback loop that fundamentally reshapes both fields.
A groundbreaking Nature Communications study led by NVIDIA reveals that AI now outperforms traditional engineering methods in nearly every layer of the quantum computing stack—from hardware design to error correction.
The reverse is equally transformative.
As AI models expand into trillion-parameter scales and energy constraints tighten, quantum processors may become unavoidable for sustainable AI development. AI stabilizes quantum systems. Quantum accelerates AI-driven discovery.
This creates a compounding advantage that fast-followers will struggle to replicate.
Market Reality: The Numbers Tell a Story
The global quantum computing market reached $1.8 billion to $3.5 billion in 2025 and continues its rapid ascent. Projections show it exploding to $20.2 billion by 2030—a compound annual growth rate exceeding 40%.
More significantly, McKinsey forecasts the total quantum technology market (computing, sensing, and communication) could reach $97 billion by 2035, with quantum computing alone capturing up to $72 billion.
Investment confidence continues to accelerate. Quantum technology startups received nearly $2 billion in 2024, a 50% increase from 2023, with 2025 showing even stronger momentum.
But here's what matters more than market size: the business leaders betting big expect fast returns.
A D-Wave survey of 400 business leaders across North America, Europe, and APAC reveals that 81% believe they've reached the limit of benefits from classical optimization solutions. Over one-quarter expect quantum optimization to deliver $5 million or higher ROI within the first year of adoption.
Among respondents most familiar with quantum, 73% describe it as significant or "a game changer" for their industry. More telling: 53% are already planning to build quantum computing into their workflows.
This isn't future-gazing. This is strategic planning happening now.
The First Documented Quantum Advantage
Last year, IonQ and Ansys achieved something remarkable: they ran a medical device simulation on IonQ's 36-qubit computer that outperformed classical high-performance computing by 12%.
This represents one of the first documented cases of quantum computing delivering practical advantage over classical methods in a real-world application.
Google demonstrated similar progress with its Quantum Echoes algorithm breakthrough, running 13,000 times faster on its Willow processor than on classical supercomputers.
These aren't theoretical promises. They're measurable results that signaled the inflection point from research to commercial viability. That inflection point has arrived.
I've watched enough technology transitions to recognize this pattern: when practical advantage appears in controlled environments, widespread application follows faster than most organizations prepare for.
The Fast-Follower Trap
IBM and Deloitte research reveals a critical strategic insight that should alarm every executive planning to "wait and see": a fast-follower approach is unlikely to be effective for quantum computing.
This breaks from traditional technology adoption patterns.
Organizations that invested in 2025 or sooner are already gaining significant business advantages, shaping the tech ecosystem to their needs, and securing first access to scarce talent resources.
Deloitte's scenario analysis warns that organizations failing to act face "significant competitive disadvantages" and will struggle to access computing capacity from vendors who've prioritized existing clients.
The math is straightforward: quantum systems have limited capacity. Vendors will allocate resources to customers who've invested in the relationship, developed use cases, and demonstrated commitment.
Waiting means joining a longer queue for access to fewer resources while competitors refine their quantum strategies.
The Talent Crisis You Can't Outsource
McKinsey estimates over 250,000 new quantum professionals will be needed globally by 2030, yet only one qualified candidate exists for every three specialized quantum positions today.
U.S. quantum-related job postings have quadrupled from 2011 to 2025. Demand for quantum software engineers outpaces supply by 3x—and that gap is widening.
This isn't just a hiring challenge. It's a strategic imperative.
Organizations building quantum literacy now position themselves to lead when the technology matures. Those waiting face an exponentially steeper learning curve.
You can't hire your way out of a talent shortage when everyone realizes they need the same scarce resource simultaneously.
What This Means for Your Strategy
I work with bold executives who are tired of tech hype parading as thought leadership. They want clear guidance on when to move and how to position their organizations for emerging technology shifts.
Here's my assessment of quantum computing in 2026:
The technology has moved beyond strategic consideration into active implementation. The 2025 UN declaration, combined with documented quantum advantage, accelerating investment, and enterprise adoption, confirms that the "when" question has become a "how fast" question.
The fast-follower window has closed. Organizations that waited through 2025 now face steeper learning curves, limited vendor capacity, and a depleted talent pool. Unlike incremental technology improvements, quantum computing creates compounding advantages for early movers through ecosystem influence, talent acquisition, and capacity access.
The quantum-AI convergence creates urgency for organizations with significant AI investments. If your competitive advantage depends on AI capabilities, quantum computing will eventually become necessary for sustainable scaling.
The talent shortage makes immediate action valuable even if full deployment is years away. Building quantum literacy and relationships now costs less than competing for scarce resources later.
The Strategic Questions You Need to Answer
I don't recommend that every organization rush into quantum computing. I recommend that every executive answer these questions:
Where do optimization challenges limit your business? If you've reached the ceiling of classical computing benefits, quantum offers measurable advantage today.
How dependent is your competitive position on AI capabilities? Organizations betting on AI leadership need quantum strategies for sustainable scaling.
What's your timeline for accessing scarce resources? Vendor relationships, talent pipelines, and computing capacity favor early movers.
Who on your team understands quantum well enough to evaluate opportunities? If the answer is "no one," you're already behind on building critical literacy.
The Cost of Certainty
I've watched executives wait for perfect information on cloud migration, data modernization, and AI adoption. The pattern repeats: by the time uncertainty resolves, strategic advantage has shifted to competitors who moved earlier.
Quantum computing in 2026 offers proof of commercial viability and a narrowing window to establish competitive position.
The UN's International Year of Quantum Science and Technology in 2025 wasn't just symbolic recognition. It marked the moment the global community recognized quantum's transition from theoretical promise to practical necessity.
The organizations acting now will shape the next decade of competitive advantage.
The ones still waiting have already fallen behind.
