THE QUBITS ARE COMING

Quantum computing could soon have a big impact on business

WITH LARGE, COMPLEX PROBLEMS,

QUANTUM COMPUTERS ARE FAST—REALLY FAST

TRADITIONAL COMPUTING QUANTUM COMPUTING

Solves a limited set of problems Solves an infinite number
sequentially or in parallel of problems simultaneously

ENTANGLED QUBITS
Act together to process
information almost
instantaneously

QUANTUM COMPUTING COULD DRUG DEVELOPMENT

TIMES COULD SPEED UP BY
SOON ACCELERATE ADVANCES
IN PHARMA AND CHEMICALS 20 %

Companies are already experimenting with quantum simulations

to speed up drug discovery and design more powerful molecules DRUG APPROVAL
RATES COULD

DOUBLE
GLOBAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE
COMPUTING MARKET IN 2018
$
10B
ESTIMATED QUANTUM COMPUTING MARKET
IN THE US PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY
$
15B TO $
30B

HOW QUICKLY COULD QUANTUM COMPUTING TAKE OFF?

Adoption will vary by industry and by the speed with which complex problems must be solved

CONSENSUS FORECASTS FOR THE PEAK ADOPTION RATES OF QUANTUM COMPUTING

80 % APPLICATIONS REQUIRING
A SIGNIFICANT SPEED ADVANTAGE

50 % APPLICATIONS REQUIRING A
MODERATE SPEED ADVANTAGE

25 % APPLICATIONS REQUIRING AN
UNDETERMINED SPEED ADVANTAGE

0 5 10 15
NUMBER OF YEARS

THE QUANTUM COMPUTING MARKET WILL

EVOLVE IN THREE OVERLAPPING GENERATIONS

1 2 3

FIRST GENERATION 2018–2028 SECOND GENERATION 2028–2039 THIRD GENERATION 2031–2050

Engineers develop quantum Quantum computers perform faster than Quantum computers achieve the
computers for specific classical computing in applications such as scale to perform advanced
low-complexity applications molecular simulation, R&D, and software simulations for modeling and
development problem-solving

2018 2022 2026 2030 2034 2038 2042 2046 2050

BCG EXPECTS A DECADE OF STEADY PROGRESS

IN QUANTUM COMPUTING, FOLLOWED BY A
SIGNIFICANT BOOST IN CAPABILITIES AFTER 2030

EARLY MOVERS CAN ESTABLISH A SIGNIFICANT QUANTUM

COMPUTING ADVANTAGE IN SEVERAL WAYS:
PREPARING FOR A
QUANTUM LEAP
Companies should engage
if they are in data-intensive
industries or need to run
time-consuming, complex Launch initiatives to Sponsor academic Explore molecule Challenge R&D to
simulations gain understanding, research in quantum simulations using follow quantum
capabilities, and applications quantum processors computing
expertise breakthroughs

This infographic is based on the BCG report The Coming Quantum Leap in Computing
Sources: BCG analysis; company reports; expert interviews

© The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. 2018. All rights reserved.

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