Investing 1 billion pounds! The UK joins the global quantum race with the goal of delivering practical quantum computers within ten years.

Over the next four years, the UK will invest over 1 billion pounds (about 1.3 billion US dollars) in quantum computing research, becoming an important part of the investment wave in this core technology seen as a matter of national security worldwide. The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) emphasized in a statement released on Tuesday that the government is pushing quantum computing companies to build prototypes and carry out systematic evaluations, aiming to deliver larger-scale quantum computers for the public sector, academia, and the commercial sector within the next decade. In terms of specific funding allocation, approximately 500 million pounds will be directly invested in the field of quantum computing, focusing on supporting companies in key industries such as pharmaceuticals, financial services, and energy management to develop innovative applications and accelerate the construction of quantum computer prototypes. At the same time, another 400 million pounds will be earmarked for the research and development of quantum sensing and navigation technologies. One of the strategic focuses of this project is to develop new navigation solutions that do not rely on the Global Positioning System (GPS). This technology has strong anti-interference capabilities in complex environments and is invaluable for national defense and precision manufacturing. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak emphasized in a speech in the City of London that this procurement plan will ensure that the UK does not fall behind in the generational upgrade of its quantum capabilities. This funding is actually a continuation and enhancement of the UK's long-term technology strategy. Already in 2023, the UK released the National Quantum Strategy, pledging to invest 2.5 billion pounds over ten years. The 1 billion pound budget allocated by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for this period from 2026 to 2030 is a specific implementation within the expenditure review period of this strategy. The National Quantum Computing Center (NQCC) in Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, will play a leading role in this process. Leading companies including Infleqtion have recently delivered operational 100-qubit systems to the center, indicating that the UK has entered a mature stage in hardware facility reserves. In addition to targeted investments in the quantum field, the UK government has also launched a Sovereign AI Fund of up to 500 million pounds, aiming to create synergies in the crossover field of artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The core goal of quantum computing is to utilize the quantum properties of subatomic particles, especially quantum superposition (the ability of particles to be in multiple states simultaneously), to solve complex problems at speeds far surpassing traditional computers. However, reliably controlling and harnessing these quantum properties is extremely challenging, and academic researchers, startups, and tech companies like Google are exploring solutions through different technological paths. Early breakthroughs have shown the tremendous potential of this technology. For example, in October 2025, Google's Willow quantum chip ran a specific algorithm at a speed 13,000 times faster than the world's fastest supercomputer at the time. Furthermore, Willow solved a calculation problem in just 5 minutes that would have taken a traditional supercomputer 10^25 years to solve. The improvement in quantum computing speed is bringing dual strategic effects: on the one hand, it could accelerate breakthroughs in areas like drug discovery and materials research, pushing the boundaries of science; on the other hand, the potential decryption capabilities of quantum computers on existing encryption systems make it a threat variable that cannot be ignored in the field of national security. The European Union has taken the lead, planning to raise a special fund of 5 billion euros (about 5.7 billion US dollars) to support startups in key areas such as quantum computing, Siasun Robot & Automation technology, explicitly requiring companies to maintain their headquarters within the EU to build an independent and controllable technological ecosystem. Japan has also ranked quantum computing alongside dozens of other cutting-edge product technologies in its list of priority investment areas for the nation.