The hottest technology today and the emerging most-promising technology are joining forces. Combining AI and quantum computing in new solutions will advance the efficiency and effectiveness of new applications of these powerful technologies.
UNESCO declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, and both Google and Microsoft followed by demonstrating breakthroughs in quantum computing. Given DeepSeek’s introduction in January of new methods for developing efficient AI models, 2025 also promises to be the year of AI efficiency.
According to PitchBook, quantum computing companies worldwide raised $677.2 million in 30 deals in the first quarter of 2025, up from $426.1 million in 20 deals in the same quarter in 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, European startups accounted for 16.5% of the total funds raised by quantum computing companies worldwide. However, in the first quarter of 2025, Europe’s share of worldwide VC investment in quantum computing has risen to 47.5%.
Riding this European momentum, Donostia, Spain-based startup Multiverse Computing, which focuses on quantum AI software solutions, released two new AI compressed models today. Both are Llama models with 60% fewer parameters than the original models, 84% greater energy efficiency, and 40% faster inference, yielding a 50% cost reduction without sacrificing accuracy.
Multiverse uses quantum-inspired tensor networks to make large language models or LLMs more efficient and portable. It has raised $100 million and has more than 100 customers worldwide. Over the coming months, it plans to release compressed versions of the top 20 LLMs.
Another European startup, IQM, which sells a 54-qubit full-stack superconducting quantum computer, recently announced it will be integrated into one of the world’s fastest supercomputers in Bologna, Italy. The system will, among other applications, be used to optimize artificial intelligence quantum algorithms.
Last year, AI attracted over $100 billion in funding, marking the highest funding year for the AI sector, with nearly a third of all global venture funding directed towards AI startups. Asked why he left the AI field to focus on quantum computing, Hartmut Neven, founder of Google’s Quantum AI lab, answered, “Both will prove to be the most transformational technologies of our time, but advanced AI will significantly benefit from access to quantum computing.”
On April 4, SandboxAQ announced it closed a $450 million Series E funding round, bringing its total capital raised to over $950 million since its 2022 spinout from Alphabet. SandboxAQ’s large quantitative models or LQMs, are a class of AI models trained on physics, chemistry, and mathematics rather than text or language. These models are designed to simulate and optimize physical systems, with applications in materials science, drug discovery, navigation, and finance.
At the GTC AI conference last month, AI leader Nvidia announced the establishment of the Nvidia Accelerated Quantum Research Center. The Boston-based center aims to advance quantum computing research with accelerated computing, including integrating quantum processors with AI-based supercomputing to overcome significant challenges in the quantum computing space.
Following this announcement, Quantum Machines, an Israeli startup providing quantum computing control solutions, announced it will work with Nvidia to integrate its Nvidia GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchips with QM’s advanced quantum control technologies, including the OPX1000. This integration will facilitate rapid, high-bandwidth communication between quantum processors and classical supercomputers. The collaboration between Quantum Machines and Nvidia aims to significantly accelerate practical applications of quantum computing by reducing latency and enhancing processing efficiency.
Quantum computing “will not only upend digital security but spur investment, reshape industries, and spark innovation,” wrote MIT’s Jonathan Ruane, Andrew McAfee, and William D. Oliver in “Quantum Computing for Business Leaders” (Harvard Business Review, January-February 2022). They had more to say about practical quantum computing applications last Friday at the Business of Quantum Summit, organized by MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy.
Among other resources developed at MIT, summit attendees explored the Quantum Economic Advantage Calculator. This online tool models the business challenges best addressed by quantum computing based on efficiency and cost.
The emerging marriage of quantum and AI was also part of the discussion of quantum’s potential impact at the summit. Accenture’s Carl Dukatz observed: “As AI is evolving, there is more of a convergence between what quantum can offer to AI… as well as how AI is already accelerating quantum development.”
