Richard Waters recently argued that quantum computing is being overshadowed by the rapid progress being made by artificial intelligence (“Headlong advance of AI puts quantum computing in the shade”, Opinion, February 7).
As the chief executive of a quantum company, I get it. AI is grabbing headlines, sucking up talent, and inflating the price of graphics processing units to that of small islands. But quantum isn’t in that fight.
AI dominates the news, as well as compute power. Meanwhile, quantum is quietly building the next layer of intelligence – the hard stuff that AI alone can’t crack. Take real-world networks — delivery routes, financial transactions, social media feeds. These systems are messy, shifting and tough to model. AI spots patterns, but for things like supply chains, molecular modeling, or cyber threats it runs into walls. That’s where quantum computing comes in.
Waters also suggests that quantum is moving too slowly. But game-changing tech doesn’t follow AI’s sprint pace. The transistor wasn’t an overnight success either, but good luck finding a modern processor without one. Let’s not forget, the transistor was among the first industrial triumphs of quantum physics. Quantum isn’t some distant dream; it’s already shaped the technology we rely on every day.
Writing off quantum today would be like dismissing the internet in 1993. It’s not a sprint, it’s the long game. Deep tech works first, then scales. Now it’s delivering and deployment is next.
Major governments, defence agencies and industry leaders aren’t waiting. In 2024, Europe’s top supercomputing centres in Germany and France installed Pasqal’s quantum computers to explore real-world uses. Aramco will follow later this year. Put this tech where it belongs, in the hands of problem-solvers. The more they tinker, the faster we’ll see real breakthroughs.
Quantum is already becoming a strategic priority in critical sectors, from materials discovery to cybersecurity. The flashy AI boom will eventually hit its computational ceiling. When it does, quantum will be there, not as a sideshow, but as the technology that makes the next breakthroughs possible.
Overshadowed? Hardly. The best foundations are built before you see the skyscraper.
Georges-Olivier Reymond
Chief Executive, Pasqal Massy,
Île-de-France, France