In a webinar hosted by Andrew Shipilov, Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, Liam Goodman, Chief Technology Officer at FIDEMI, referred to 2025 as the "transistor moment" for quantum computing – a tipping point where years of incremental progress have quietly shifted the technology from experimental to strategic. Investment in the sector grew 50% year on year, with public funding across more than 30 countries already passing US$40 billion.

Where a classical computer works through a problem step by step, a quantum computer can explore vast numbers of possible solutions simultaneously, making it a game changer for problems that are simply too complex for today’s machines. 

Zulfi Alam, Corporate Vice President of Quantum at Microsoft, pointed to chemistry as a prime example: Quantum computing’s ability to simulate atomic interactions at scale could reshape drug discovery and much of what we manufacture.

They were joined by Freeke Heijman, founder of Quantum Delta Netherlands and Vice President of the European Quantum Industry Consortium, and Laura Conversa, Principal Director at Accenture Research, at the recent Tech Talk, where they discussed why quantum computing is no longer a long-term bet, and what business leaders should be doing about it now.

The cost of waiting

The companies best placed to benefit from quantum computing are not waiting for the technology to mature before they act. Building the algorithms, training the talent and identifying the right use cases take years, and those who start late will find the ground already taken.

There is also a security dimension that makes waiting dangerous. Heijman warned of a risk known as “harvest now, decrypt later”, the idea that sensitive data being encrypted today could be stored by bad actors and decoded once quantum computers become powerful enough to crack current security standards. Thus, the time to start migrating to quantum-safe encryption is now, not when the threat becomes visible.

Importantly, quantum computing is not just about adopting a technology but being part of an ecosystem. No single company can do this all alone; instead, consortia, partnerships and national programmes all have a role to play.