quantum computing landscape
Who is building what, and how far along it is.
A qubit can hold a mix of 0 and 1, but loses that state at the slightest disturbance. Each approach on this map is a different answer to the same problem: keeping qubits stable enough to compute with. Each trades off quality, speed and scale, and none leads on all three today.
- The scoreboard has changed.
- The measure that matters is now logical qubits rather than physical ones. A logical qubit is a group of physical qubits that, with error correction, behaves as one reliable qubit. Several companies have demonstrated them, and most roadmaps target about 100 between 2027 and 2030.
- The race between approaches is open.
- Trapped ions and neutral atoms lead on logical qubits today. Superconducting chips are faster and made in factories. Photonic and silicon approaches are built for mass production but are earlier in development. The large cloud and computing platforms work with several approaches at once.
- The cost of fault tolerance may be falling.
- New error-correction methods suggest useful machines may need fewer physical qubits than earlier estimates assumed. Claims of practical advantage over classical computers remain contested and are often narrowed later.
- Some demand does not depend on the timeline.
- Federal deadlines to move to post-quantum encryption create spending whether or not a large machine arrives on schedule.
map
Players are placed by approach, from gate-based on the left to analog on the right, and by maturity. Maturity, bottom to top: research prototypes, then working systems in customers' hands, then demonstrated logical qubits, then a dated path to fault-tolerant scale. Filled dots are public companies or units of one; hollow dots are private. Hover over a node for its card, or click to pin it.
Click a legend item to highlight one technology or status. Esc or click elsewhere to close a pinned card.
players
resources
- Is it Q-Day?
- Q-Day countdown for today's encryption, vendor roadmaps, a hardware evolution chart and a quantum stock index (QTI).
- The Quantum Insider
- Daily industry news: funding rounds, listings, contracts and company announcements.
- Quantum Computing Report
- Analysis and a players directory by segment, from Global Quantum Intelligence.
- Understanding Quantum Technologies
- Olivier Ezratty's free technical reference on hardware, software and the industry, about 1,500 pages, updated May 2026.
notes
Positions are approximate and reflect editorial judgment, as of 29 October 2026. Private companies are included if they have a system running for customers or have reached the final stage of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. Figures come from company reports and published research; logical-qubit results differ in method (some correct errors, others detect and discard them) and are not comparable one-for-one across technologies. Not investment advice.