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  • Global Research
    • General Research Insights
    • Data science

Quantum Revisited: From labs to trials

  • Article
  • AI is in the limelight, but quantum computers (QCs) are increasingly moving from pure research to commercial trials
  • An HSBC/IBM project shows QC’s potential to reshape bond trading; many sectors could see future disruption
  • Venture capital investment in QCs has already topped USD3bn in 2025 - by far the largest annual sum to date

Quantum still making progress

While AI is comfortably the most talked-about disruptive tech today, quantum computers (QCs) continue to make headway. With vast potential computational power, it could far outpace the best classical supercomputers to solve a certain class of problems, and is increasingly moving from pure research in labs to commercial trials of real-world use cases. QCs may even complement GPU-based AI for complex tasks, supporting the AI boom.

Safety and opportunity in focus

Many trials focus on futureproofing data storage and transmission from the risks that QCs could present on the day when malicious actors can apply QCs to crack today’s cryptographic techniques. Preparing for this “Q-Day” is a concern for businesses and regulators alike. But we are also seeing companies using today’s state-of-the art “noisy” QCs to improve workflow and speed up operational processes.

For example, in September 2025, HSBC demonstrated the world’s first-known quantum-enabled algorithimic trading with IBM. This innovative trial resulted in a remarkable 34% boost in accurately predicting the likelihood of winning client requests in the European corporate bond market, outperforming traditional methods. In the future, QC could offer further revolutionary opportunities across a broad range of sectors, solving complex problems from logistics to molecular modelling - helping to save time, lives and protect the environment.

Driving the next stage of development

There is still some way to go to build a truly universal QC. Developers are making progress in overcoming engineering challenges to build the required hardware, such as advanced chips and systems that can operate in extreme cold. Governments are backing QC-related projects; and we may be seeing a pick-up in venture capital interest, with VC investments in the sector topping USD3bn so far in 2025 - by far the largest annual sum. All these actors have a role to play if QC is to achieve its “ChatGPT” moment.

Back to the future

In this note, we highlight selected developments in the field of QC since our 2022 report Quantum Computing: Multi-sector Disruption (22 October 2022). Plus, we offer an annex of 12 key questions as a reminder of what QC is and how it works.

Would you like to find out more? Click here* to read the free to view report.

To learn more about HSBC Global Research, including how to subscribe, please email us at AskResearch@hsbc.com.

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