Private European Firms Lead Quantum Computing Adoption

Globally, private European firms are leading the charge in adopting quantum computing, embracing the technology to tackle business challenges across industries, including energy, financial services, and pharmaceuticals, according to a recent research by McKinsey.

Released in April, the research looks at the state of quantum computing adoption, identifying over 300 organizations including Airbus, Boehringer Ingelheim, E.ON, JPMorgan Chase, and Liberty Mutual that have adopted the technology.

It analyzes 162 companies out of the 300 engaged with quantum computing worldwide, and reveals that European companies are at the forefront of advancing quantum computing. These companies represent 43% of the identified quantum computing customers, followed by the US with a 29% share, and Asia at 22%.

Private companies dominate the quantum computing customer base, accounting for 72% of the total. In contrast, public entities represent 28% of these customers.

Sectoral trends and initiatives

Currently, corporate quantum computing initiatives are predominantly driven by partnerships and joint labs with quantum hardware and software providers, with the global energy and materials industry standing out as the most active sector and accounting for a significant 9.3% of quantum computing customers.

In this industry, companies use quantum computing to tackle chemistry, such as simulating molecules for catalysts, batteries, and carbon capture materials. It is also used to optimize complex logistics like refinery scheduling, power grid management, and supply chains.

For example, Oak Ridge National Lab and Cleveland Clinic are partnered with IBM to use quantum computing to accelerate fusion materials design.

The UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), meanwhile, collaborates with Google to provide researchers in the country with access to Google’s Willow quantum processor. This collaboration aims to bolster the country’s quantum innovators’ efforts in applying quantum computing to various fields, including the design of new medicines, and the transition to clean and affordable energy.

Following the energy sector, financial services ranks second with a 8.6% share. In this industry, companies use quantum computing to test risk scenarios and strengthen security across established decision flows.

For example, the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology collaborated with IonQ in 2025 to develop and train quantum models that generate realistic synthetic financial data. These models accurately reflect complex market behaviors and intervariable relationships, enabling improved testing and validation of financial models.

Intesa Sanpaolo, a major Italian banking group, is collaborating with IBM to enhance fraud detection, reports the World Economic Forum. The bank employs a quantum algorithm to classify and identify data patterns that are too complex for traditional methods, identifying fraudulent transactions with greater accuracy and efficiency, while reducing the number of legitimate transactions flagged as false positives.

Finally, pharmaceuticals and medical products ranks third with a 6.2% share. In this industry, quantum computing is used for molecular simulation and drug discovery, with early moves in security as well.

For example, Biogen collaborates with Accenture Labs and quantum software firm 1QBit to apply quantum computing to molecular comparison in drug discovery. Similarly, AstraZeneca is partnered with IonQ, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and NVIDIA to help provide solutions to complex pharmaceutical development challenges. These collaborations have the potential to expedite and enhance the speed and efficiency of the drug development process.

Investment in quantum computing

The McKinsey research also analyzes a selection of large global companies and found that 33% of these firms allocated more than US$10 million to quantum computing initiatives in 2025, with 7% allocating more than US$50 million.

These substantial investments primarily focused on use case and application development, integration with existing tech stacks, and internal capability building.

These findings suggest that enterprises have shifted from asking whether to invest in quantum computing to how to industrialize the technology. It also highlights that most firms are in the build phase.

Business leaders aren’t the only ones recognizing the commercial potential of quantum computing. In 2025, investment in quantum technology startups reached US$12.6 billion, marking a 6.3-time increase from 2024.

In addition, 2025 also saw several exits for quantum computing startups, illustrating the growing maturity of the sector. These transactions included IonQ’s US$1.1 billion acquisition of Oxford Ionics, and Xanadu’s announcement of a public listing via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Market outlook

As firms actively embrace quantum computing, the industry generated over US$1 billion in revenue worldwide in 2025. McKinsey projects this figure to grow to as much as US$4.4 billion by 2028.

This surge in investment stems from the technology’s potential to address complex problems that are practically unsolvable for even the fastest classical supercomputers, promising breakthroughs in speed, accuracy, and competitive advantage. McKinsey estimates that quantum computing could create up to US$2.7 trillion of economic value worldwide by 2035 as it enhances current industry applications and unlocks new ones.

The global energy and materials industry is expected to record the most significant gain, with an estimated value at stake from quantum computing of up to US$800 billion by 2035. The financial industry is projected to rank second, with quantum computing delivering up to US$600 billion in economic value worldwide by 2035, followed by travel, transport, and logistics, with potential economic value of up to US$500 billion.

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