What is the state of quantum technologies in the Fortune Global 500? What are the top use cases?

I have collected comprehensive data on quantum applications in quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensing from public sources for the Fortune Global 500, the largest companies in the world by revenue. The information collected includes use cases (with links to sources), partners (if any), and whether these companies are quantum providers (hardware, software, or services) or end users of said technologies. That data is available for anyone to explore in Data Studio. Below are the highlights.

Highlights

In what follows I have excluded quantum providers as well as purely monetary investments in quantum technologies.

Locations

Among the Global 500, Europe leads in the exploration and early adoption of quantum technologies with almost a third of companies ready for the quantum revolution:

• Europe (EMEA): 30% (Germany, France, UK)
• Asia (APAC): 16% (Japan, South Korea, China)
• North America (NA): 15%
• Latin America: 9% (Brazil)

Globally, the countries with the most quantum-ready companies are: Japan (22), the US (19), Germany (13), South Korea (8), the UK and France (both 6), and China (5). If we exclude prototyping, then Japan drops to third position behind the US and Germany.

Use cases

Most Global 500 companies are still in the exploratory stage with quantum computing. Among the current top applications of quantum computing are optimization, material simulations, and machine learning.

Machine learning is being investigated in all regions, as is visible in the Data Studio report.

Quantum readiness

The following figure shows quantum readiness by industry:

More information on the use cases of various companies in key industries is available in another post.

If we look at the ranks in the Fortune Global 500 list, we see that the adoption of quantum technologies decreases with rank. In other words, the larger the revenue, the more likely a company is to explore quantum computing. That is not too surprising as quantum computing promises much, but, as of today, delivers very little.

Quantum readiness is higher in companies with more than 50k employees compared to smaller organizations:

• Fewer than 50,000 employees: 11%
• Between 50,000 and 100,000 employees: 27%
• More than 100,000 employees: 25%

Potential for more quantum applications therefore lie in areas such as medical devices, automotive, trading, financial services, manufacturing, insurance, energy, oil and gas, and logistics, especially in the lower ranks of the Global 500 or even outside. Opportunities in retail, food and beverages, mining, transportation, consumer and luxury goods, professional services, e-commerce, agriculture, and so on are limited, as immediate benefits are less obvious.

Preferred partners

Overall, IBM is the preferred partner of the Fortune Global 500 when it comes to quantum computing. Within optimization, D-Wave reigns supreme. Quantinuum leads in material and chemistry simulations. For QKD, ID Quantique is the preferred industry partner.

Top companies

In terms of the number of use cases by company, JPMorgan Chase is ahead of everyone else.

If you’re interested in the details of the various use cases, please see the NISQ use cases by industry or explore the data yourself with an interactive and up-to-date Data Studio report.