Quantum Technology in the Real World

By Jake Piccoli, General Partner | November 2026

TL;DR

Quantum already underpins financial timestamps, telecommunications and GPS. Computing is opening new approaches to scientific discovery, while emerging sensors address 6G, groundwater monitoring and mining. McKinsey projects a $60–100 billion quantum technology market by 2035.¹ KEY sees a rare opportunity to invest in companies turning this transformational technology into practical commercial products.

Understanding the Opportunity

We often spend more time trying to understand how quantum works than asking what it does. Conversations quickly turn to particles existing in multiple states, entanglement and computers that seem to defy intuition. The science deserves attention. But for businesses and investors, an equally useful starting point is the problem being solved.

Most of us cannot explain the physics inside a semiconductor. We understand what a smartphone makes possible. Quantum deserves a similar approach: enough science to understand the capability, followed by a clear explanation of where that capability creates value.

At its most basic, quantum physics describes how matter and light behave at the scale of atoms and smaller particles. At that scale, energy comes in discrete levels and particles can behave like waves. Quantum technologies harness these properties to process information, communicate or measure the physical world. Quantum computing is one branch of this broader field. Clocks and sensors are others.²

Quantum is reaching the market in stages. Atomic clocks already support navigation, telecommunications and financial infrastructure. New sensing technologies are being tested against practical challenges outside the laboratory, while quantum computing is advancing into increasingly relevant scientific problems. Each stage creates different opportunities for customers and suppliers. For investors, this means there is no single breakthrough date to wait for. The task is to identify where performance is improving, where customers have a reason to adopt and which companies can turn that progress into reliable products.

The potential scale is substantial. McKinsey’s 2026 Quantum Technology Monitor projects a global market of $60 billion to $100 billion for quantum hardware, software and services by 2035, spanning computing, communications and sensing. Separately, it estimates that quantum computing could create $1.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion in economic value across industries by 2035. These forecasts measure different opportunities: revenue for technology providers and the broader value created for businesses using the technology.¹

Computing and Scientific Discovery

Some of the most valuable problems in computing involve understanding how matter behaves. How could a battery store more energy without becoming unstable? Which molecule might become an effective medicine? Could a new catalyst make an industrial process less expensive and less energy intensive?

Conventional computers already help answer these questions, but accurately modeling molecular behavior becomes increasingly difficult as systems grow more complex. Quantum computers offer a different approach, using quantum systems to model behavior that is itself quantum mechanical. With sufficiently capable hardware and the right algorithms, they could make certain calculations practical that would overwhelm even powerful conventional computers.^3,4

In materials discovery, this could help researchers develop better battery chemistries, more effective catalysts and materials with useful electrical or magnetic properties. More accurate simulations could identify promising candidates before researchers commit to expensive laboratory testing.⁴

In drug discovery, quantum computing could improve our understanding of molecular interactions, helping researchers evaluate compounds and decide what to test. Researchers at IBM, Cleveland Clinic and RIKEN are already exploring molecular electronic structure through workflows combining quantum and conventional computing. The opportunity is more productive research, with laboratory experiments and clinical trials remaining essential.³

Cybersecurity presents an immediate reason to prepare. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break widely used forms of public-key cryptography. NIST finalized its first three post-quantum cryptography standards in 2024, giving organizations tools that run on conventional hardware to begin addressing that future threat.⁵

These applications are progressing at different speeds, but the work is becoming tangible. Hybrid quantum and conventional workflows are being used to study molecular and materials systems. The next advances depend on scaling useful calculations, improving accuracy and integrating them into research workflows. That creates opportunities for the hardware, components and software that turn scientific progress into tools businesses can use.^3,4

Finance

In finance, quantum computing is being applied to problems such as portfolio optimization, derivatives pricing and risk analysis. JPMorgan Chase has demonstrated small-scale portfolio optimization on quantum hardware, translating an abstract algorithm into a recognizable investment problem. The next step is to scale these methods and demonstrate useful improvements over leading conventional approaches. For institutions evaluating complex portfolios, better calculations could support more effective risk and capital allocation decisions.⁶

A less visible financial application is already essential: time. Markets need an agreed sequence of events. When an order was received, when a trade occurred and how activity unfolded across venues all depend on accurate timestamps. Atomic clocks provide the reference behind those records. Quantum technology already helps financial markets operate, even while quantum computing’s larger role remains under development.⁷

Telecommunications and 6G

Telecommunications offers another example. Atomic time helps mobile operators coordinate equipment and hand calls between towers without interruption. Data centers also depend on synchronized systems. Precision timing is already part of the industry’s foundation, with better clocks offering opportunities to strengthen network performance and resilience.⁸

Looking ahead to 6G, researchers are exploring quantum sensors that use laser-controlled atoms to detect radio signals. NIST has demonstrated capabilities relevant to measuring and calibrating high-frequency wireless equipment, including signals above 100 GHz. University researchers are also investigating atomic receivers for future 6G satellite links. These advances create opportunities in testing equipment and receiver components as developers work on integration, reliability and cost.^9,10

Security is another connection. NIST’s 6G roadmap includes quantum-safe cryptography to protect networks against future quantum-computer attacks. This can run on conventional hardware. It differs from quantum key distribution, which uses properties of light to establish encryption keys and faces its own deployment constraints. Both belong in the discussion, but they involve different technologies.^11,12

Timing and GPS

Timing also explains why GPS belongs in the quantum conversation. A receiver determines its position using precisely timed signals from satellites carrying atomic clocks. Navigation depends on measuring how long those signals take to arrive. The familiar blue dot on a phone rests on quantum physics that most users never need to think about.¹³

The next opportunity is to make that dependency more resilient. Local atomic clocks can help critical systems maintain accurate time when GPS signals are disrupted or unavailable. More capable, deployable clocks could extend that independence for telecommunications, financial infrastructure and transportation. Preserving a dependable time reference during an outage supports continuity, creating a practical reason for customers to adopt better timing products.¹⁴

Sensing Groundwater and Mineral Resources

Quantum sensing makes the practical possibilities even more tangible. Gravity varies slightly with the distribution of mass beneath us. Water stored underground, dense rock and empty cavities produce different gravitational signatures. Sensors using carefully controlled atoms can measure those tiny variations, helping infer what lies below the surface. In 2022, University of Birmingham researchers demonstrated this by detecting a buried tunnel outdoors with a quantum gravity gradiometer.¹⁵

The same principle could help address water scarcity. Researchers are exploring quantum gravity sensors to map groundwater and monitor changes in underground water storage. Over time, such measurements could help water managers understand aquifer depletion and replenishment, informing extraction and conservation decisions in drought-prone regions.¹⁶

In mining, gravity measurements can help identify density contrasts associated with mineral deposits and underground voids. More capable quantum sensors could improve exploration surveys and help target investigation before expensive drilling. Combined with geological models, sampling and other survey methods, the value is better information about where to commit exploration capital.¹⁷

The KEY Investment Perspective

For investors, these examples suggest a more specific way to evaluate the sector. Start with the customer: an exchange needs reliable timestamps; a network operator needs continuity; a contractor needs better information about the ground. Then ask whether quantum delivers a measurable improvement, whether the equipment works outside a laboratory and whether the benefit justifies its cost.

That also brings the enabling hardware into focus. Precision lasers, control electronics and other components help turn atomic behavior into systems customers can use. Their commercial prospects depend on reliability, manufacturability and customer adoption as much as scientific performance. The opportunity deserves to be assessed application by application.

At KEY, we believe this stage of quantum’s development presents a rare opportunity to invest in a truly transformational technology as its commercial applications begin to take shape. Established uses in timing and navigation offer evidence of its practical value, while advances in computing, communications and sensing point to a much broader opportunity ahead. Our focus is on the companies building the essential technologies that make those applications possible. We see the potential to invest early in an industry that could reshape critical parts of the global economy, while grounding our decisions in tangible customer demand and commercial progress.

We do not need to resolve every paradox of quantum physics before recognizing its practical value. We need enough understanding to ask better questions about what works, who needs it and what they will pay for it. Quantum becomes easier to evaluate when the conversation moves from explaining the phenomenon to examining the result.

Sources

1. Soller, Henning, et al. “McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor 2026: A Commercial Tipping Point.” McKinsey & Company, 28 Apr. 2026, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-technology/our-insights/mckinsey-quantum-technology-monitor-2026-a-commercial-tipping-point. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
2. “Quantum Sensing Explained.” NIST, 2 Apr. 2026, https://www.nist.gov/quantum-information-science/quantum-sensing-explained. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
3. Letzter, Rafi. “Researchers Use Quantum-Centric Supercomputing to Simulate 12,635-Atom Protein Complex.” IBM Quantum Blog, 5 May 2026, https://www.ibm.com/quantum/blog/cleveland-clinic-riken-chemistry. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
4. “Increasing Simulation Accuracy for Quantum Computing.” Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 21 Nov. 2025, https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/increasing-simulation-accuracy-quantum-computing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
5. “Announcing Approval of Three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) for Post-Quantum Cryptography.” Computer Security Resource Center, 13 Aug. 2024, https://csrc.nist.gov/News/2024/postquantum-cryptography-fips-approved. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
6. Yalovetzky, Romina, et al. “Solving Quantum Linear Systems on Hardware for Portfolio Optimization.” JPMorganChase, 10 Sept. 2024, https://www.jpmorganchase.com/about/technology/blog/quantum-linear-systems-for-portfolio-optimization. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
7. “Keeping Stock Trades Fair.” NIST, 2 July 2025, https://www.nist.gov/atomic-clocks/a-technology-powerhouse/keeping-stock-trades-fair. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
8. “Atomic Time for a Networked World.” NIST, 2 July 2025, https://www.nist.gov/atomic-clocks/a-technology-powerhouse/atomic-time-networked-world. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
9. Holloway, Chris, et al. “Overview of Rydberg Atom-Based Sensors/Receivers for the Measurement of Electric Fields, Power, Voltage, and Modulated Signals.” Antenna and Array Technologies for Future Wireless Ecosystems, Wiley-IEEE Press, 15 July 2022, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119813910.ch11. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
10. Peng, Qihao, et al. “Enhanced Ground-Satellite Direct Access via Onboard Rydberg Atomic Quantum Receivers.” IEEE Wireless Communications, 27 Feb. 2026, pp. 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2026.3659837. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
11. “What Is Quantum Cryptography?” NIST, 19 May 2025, https://www.nist.gov/cybersecurity-and-privacy/what-quantum-cryptography. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
12. “CTL 6G Communications Roadmap.” NIST, 26 Aug. 2026, https://www.nist.gov/ctl/ctl-roadmaps/ctl-6g-communications-roadmap. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
13. “Knowing Where We Are.” NIST, 2 July 2025, https://www.nist.gov/atomic-clocks/a-technology-powerhouse/knowing-where-we-are. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
14. “Compact Atomic Clocks.” NPL, https://www.npl.co.uk/research/time-frequency/compact-atomic-clocks. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
15. “Sensor Breakthrough Paves Way for Groundbreaking Map of World under Earth Surface.” University of Birmingham, 23 Feb. 2022, https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news-archive/2022/sensor-breakthrough-paves-way-for-groundbreaking-map-of-world-under-earth-surface. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
16. “Researchers Awarded Funding to Use Quantum Sensor Technology for Environmental Applications.” University of Birmingham, 20 Mar. 2023, https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/researchers-awarded-funding-to-use-quantum-sensor-technology-for-environmental-applications. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.
17. “Turning Atoms into Waves to Measure Gravity and Acceleration.” NIST, 1 Apr. 2026, https://www.nist.gov/quantum-information-science/quantum-sensing-explained/turning-atoms-waves-measure-gravity-and. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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