This time in 2024, the UK’s quantum computing sector was riding a wave of optimism, buoyed by record levels of investment and the commitments laid out in the government’s 10-year, £2.5bn National Quantum Strategy.
But in 2025, no public calls for quantum computing projects have been issued all year, and Sir Patrick Vallance recently confirmed what many of us in the sector feared: there will be no new funding available until the autumn. At least.
Whilst this is understandable considering the country’s challenging economic situation and the need to undertake a comprehensive spending review to inform future policy, it is nevertheless a situation that leaves many UK companies stuck in limbo.
And in a field as fast-moving as quantum, a year’s delay doesn’t just slow things down — it risks setting us back irreversibly.
More than this, the funding that was available even in 2024 targeted quantum hardware alone. But as recognised in the UK’s Quantum Computing mission, quantum software and algorithms are essential to get good performance out of the hardware.
Small-scale quantum hardware testbeds enable valuable small-scale experiments, but better quantum algorithms could be transformative by making quantum computing genuinely useful today – and with orders of magnitude less expense than hardware.
It’s not called a quantum race for nothing
And much of the rest of the world is continuing to race away at speed.
Just this week, the quantum hardware startup Oxford Ionics was acquired by the US company IonQ for $1bn in stock and $10m cash.
This is a reflection of the top-notch quality of UK quantum R&D, built on decades of public funding – but also an example that will be watched closely by other UK quantum companies seeking capital and opportunities that can be hard to find in the UK.
There’s already more public funding available for quantum companies in the US than in the UK, more fellowships, more state and federal grants and contracts, and more support for scale-up and deployment.
Even with President Trump’s recent pushback against universities, private capital ultimately follows public money and several of our peers have joined us in opening labs overseas to access such support, knowledge and capital.
The US recently proposed to double federal quantum funding. Canada announced plans to boost its quantum commitments.
Finland just published a dedicated national quantum strategy with targeted actions aimed at making it a world leader.
The EU continues to invest heavily through its Quantum Flagship programme, and recently launched a €500m initiative to attract leading US scientists with competitive salaries and publishing freedom. And once the talent, capital and momentum go elsewhere, they rarely return.
The National Quantum Strategy clearly set out the country’s ambitions for quantum technologies, but the delay in its implementation is concerning — something both the quantum R&D community and policymakers are well aware of.
The Government’s Quantum Skills Taskforce recently published a report calling 2025 a pivot point for quantum, and emphasising the need not to “rest on our laurels” if we want to keep hold of our essential and well-earned advantage.
Yet recognising a strategic imperative is just the first step, and we need to act on it if we want to maintain our global leadership in the field.
This includes not waiting for others to take the lead on the software side of quantum computing – an area where the UK has traditionally been very strong, but where a lack of action could lead to others developing the algorithms and software stacks which will underpin the whole of the future quantum computing industry.
The risks of inaction
As a nation, we already have a world-class academic base in institutions like UCL, Oxford and Bristol, a framework for access to quantum technology through the National Quantum Computing Centre, and a vibrant network of startups building quantum software, hardware and infrastructure.
UK companies have delivered record-breaking demonstrations of quantum hardware, error-correction, and quantum algorithm performance.
The multi-million-fold improvements in the latter alone have brought quantum advantage for modelling materials to within touching distance.
These innovations could enable quantum computers to accelerate battery innovation and the development of more sustainable chemicals and contribute to improving the resilience and efficiency of our energy grids — key components in the race to Net Zero.
With the right funding and focus, we believe the UK could even be home to the first demonstration of practical quantum advantage.
That won’t happen, however, if we lose more time to uncertainty. Clarity and certainty are key to the development of an active and healthy ecosystem and to attracting talent on a global scale.
Researchers and entrepreneurs – both homegrown and international – will naturally gravitate to countries that visibly back their ambitions.
And without follow-on funding or serious project pipelines in the UK, we might end up watching others capitalise on the breakthroughs we’ve pioneered, with the talent we trained.
This isn’t just about asking for more money. It’s about asking for stability, making good on what’s been promised and securing both our global foothold and the very future of our society and planet.
And about asking that this money is wisely targeted to include support for the software that is essential to make the hardware work, significantly more capital-efficient than hardware, and cannot be left to be an afterthought once hardware development is complete.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Government said it wanted to “ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the quantum revolution.”
That future is still possible – but only if we act now to support the companies, scientists, and breakthroughs that will get us there.
After all, the global quantum race is being run whether we’re in it or not. If we want to take part – let alone lead – we have to move. And fast.
Ashley Montanaro is the co-founder and CEO of Phasecraft.
The post Stalling on quantum funding won’t just cost the UK jobs – it’ll cost us the future appeared first on UKTN.
