Quantum technologies are transitioning from research to early commercialization, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) announced Wednesday in its latest annual report.
The sector, now comprising more than 7,000 organizations worldwide, is entering that young commercialization phase marked by rising revenues, an expanding workforce, and increasing global collaboration, Jonathan Felbinger, deputy director of QED-C, said at the consortium’s summit in Washington.
“This year’s indicators are very encouraging,” Felbinger said. “We are still in the early days of the quantum industry. Early adopters are working closely with quantum developers and arrangements … Government continues to play an outsized role, with the majority of quantum computing and quantum sensing companies reporting partnerships with government research and similar organizations today.”
“As the industry and technology continue to mature, we expect to see public sector reposition itself as a customer for quantum products and services,” Felbinger added.
QED-C’s report found that China, Japan, and the United States lead the world in the top public investments in quantum technology.
China invested $300 million in quantum since 2024, and Japan invested $7,210 million. However, the United States’ investments dipped, with $30 million less between 2024 and 2026 compared to prior years.
Private investment is also climbing, the report said, though it’s increasingly concentrated in later-stage startups, while new company formation has slowed. The United States led the world in venture capital raised for quantum technologies overall in 2025, and was followed by Israel, Finland, and Spain.
Industry revenue is projected to surpass $4 billion by 2028, with companies reporting steady growth and no recent declines, the report found. Still, much of the sector remains pre-revenue, relying heavily on government partnerships and funding to sustain progress.
U.S. federal leaders said that the report aligns with what they’re seeing in the quantum sector.
Darío Gil, undersecretary for science and innovation for the Energy Department and director of the Genesis Mission, said during a summit panel discussion that he’s “just thrilled about where the industry is right now, adding that he thinks “the next few years are going to be the most fun.”
“I think … [the upcoming years are] going to be the best years in the history of quantum information science and quantum computing. So, I just cannot wait on what we’re all going to achieve together,” Gil said. “We have a wonderful set of policies in the administration and driven by the president, we’re making quantum an absolute top priority, and I think together, we’re going to drive incredible breakthroughs.”
So far, the biggest investments in quantum technologies have been in quantum computing and quantum sensing, QED-C’s report said.
Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for the Directorate of Technology, Innovation and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation (NSF), nodded at the work his agency has done to help support those advancements through public-private partnerships and investments.
“When we think about our portfolio and the efforts that we’re trying to pursue, it’s really trying to build upon that and power that drive that into the future as we go forward,” Gianchandani said.
He explained that NSF is zeroing in on three areas to drive continued progress in quantum technology: increased investment in foundational research, building a full-spectrum workforce that spans scientists to entrepreneurs, and expanding critical infrastructure such as testbeds to support experimentation and training.
U.S. Chief Technology Officer Ethan Klein said that the nation is also looking to move beyond just funding research. “We need to continue doing that, but we need to advance now towards all the commercialization and applications, identifying what those applications are, and incentivizing more private capital to flow in,” he said.
To do that, Klein said the federal government is hinging advancements on five coordinated priorities:
- Accelerating real-world applications through public-private partnerships;
- Strengthening domestic supply chains for key components;
- Expanding the workforce beyond PhDs to include technical talent;
- Safeguarding quantum technologies for national security; and
- Deepening collaboration with international allies.
All three officials also stressed the importance of developing a quantum workforce. The QED-C report showed that quantum industry hiring is accelerating, with roughly 16,000 new workers added across the ecosystem and job postings rising about 11% year over year.
Companies are also increasingly prioritizing full-time roles and moving beyond research-heavy hiring toward operations, business development, and other commercial functions as the sector matures.
To further drive that, Gianchandani said that the federal government is pushing for a closer alignment between education and industry, with a greater emphasis on hands-on training, certifications, and apprenticeships to ensure workers are job-ready and reduce the need for training.
“It really requires an intentional partnership between and across sectors to be able to drive the [educational and workforce] needs,” Gianchandani said.