The journey of quantum computing from a sci-fi-esque speculative technology to R&D intensive long-term play to clears signs of strong commercial opportunity has been nothing short of astounding.
The public eye last year, in terms of technology at least, continued to be dominated by AI, but in many ways, the strides made in the quantum sector were even more significant, and have laid the groundwork for something truly special in the coming years.
Looking at the details of the quantum sector after one of its most important years to date, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) recently released its State of the Global Quantum Industry 2026 report.
QED-C is an international coalition of businesses and public institutions representing the global quantum research and technology ecosystem. Among its UK-based representatives are Quantinuum, Oxford Ionics and Phasecraft.
The group’s latest report found that momentum last year was exceptional and will likely continue into 2026.
Quantum in 2025
According to QED-C, the global quantum market size reached $1.9bn last year, driven by the $1.4bn of revenue earned by the quantum computing industry and the $470m earned by the quantum sensing industry. This represents a growth rate of 30% from the previous year.
That is far from the only metric that saw impressive growth in 2025. The global quantum workforce grew significantly last year, with over 16,000 new pure play quantum workers, representing a 14% increase and more than 8,000 new quantum-related positions opening, an 11% rise.
The number of relevant active patents in 2025 also grew, reaching 69,807, a rise of 20%.
Perhaps the most impressive metric growth seen last year, however, is investment. Private venture capital investments in the sector reached $4.9bn, a 192% increase compared with 2024.
Looking at government funding, the increase was even greater. Public investment in the quantum sector reached $12.7bn, an increase of 310%.
“Global public and private funding grew significantly in 2025, with governments and venture capital investors increasing commitments and companies hiring more workers,” said QED-C Executive Director Celia Merzbacher.
Composition of the quantum sector
The quantum sector, as defined by QED-C, contains within it pure-play companies and partial play organisations which are in sub-divisions including computing, quantum sensing, quantum imaging and quantum cryptography.
All in all, QED-C counted 6,864 partial play quantum organisations, which includes both private enterprises and research institutes, and 556 pure-play companies.
Geographically, the United States unsurprisingly contains the most pure-play quantum companies, with 164, 19 more than in 2024. Behind the US is Canada with 59, putting the UK in a very close third place with 56.
Rounding out the rest of the top five is Germany and France with 48 and 29 respectively.
The UK is also third when looking at the global share of the quantum workforce, behind the US and Germany, and fourth in total public investment commitments to the field with $5.49bn, behind China, Japan and the US.
“This year’s report underscores that the quantum technology industry is growing and maturing and is viewed around the world as strategically important,” Merzbacher added.
Merzbacher noted that the strong investment performance in the sector was a promising sign of things to come.
“As quantum technologies demonstrate commercial value—for customers in sectors from chemicals and energy to finance and defence—markets will grow faster and will diversify, making the industry ripe for more application-oriented business creation and broader investment opportunities,” she said.
