Quick Recap
Amazon’s SEC filing revealed a $36.7 million stake in IonQ, acquiring 854,207 shares, a new market analysis revealed that quantum technology vendors are expected to secure only 6% of the field's total economic impact by 2025, suggesting that much of quantum’s business value will flow to end users rather than the hardware and software suppliers themselves. D-Wave released an open-source quantum AI toolkit for annealing hardware, with demos in PyTorch targeting applications such as drug discovery and protein-DNA prediction, citing successful projects with Japan Tobacco Inc., Jülich Supercomputing Centre, and TRIUMF. IBM advanced error correction with its Relay-BP decoder for LDPC codes, claiming a 10x accuracy improvement and efficiency on FPGAs. Alice & Bob proposed Unfolded Codes for hardware-efficient magic state distillation, potentially reducing error correction overhead. New scientific advances included the first coherent control of a carbon nanotube 'gatemon' qubit with record coherence (200 ns), discovery of 'neglectons' as resources for error correction, ParityQC’s replacement-type gates leveraging hardware noise bias for efficient fault tolerance, and a TQC framework using non-semisimple TQFT to achieve universality with Ising anyons. However, Jack Krupansky’s August 2025 piece summarized persistent industry concerns, arguing that quantum efforts lack progress, real access, and new ideas, casting doubt on current and near-future utility.
"“Quantum computing is dead, effectively.”"
— Jack Krupansky, Independent Analyst
The Week in Quantum Computing
Is Quantum Computing Dead?
In his August 2025 Medium article, Jack Krupansky argues that “quantum computing is dead, effectively,” criticizing the lack of significant progress since IBM’s 27-qubit Falcon in 2019. Krupansky notes that even with IBM’s Condor at 1,121 qubits, it was “never available to ANYONE for actual use,” with subsequent hardware such as Heron reverting to 133-156 qubits and the upcoming Nighthawk planned for only 120. Quantinuum’s peak Quantum Volume stands at 2²³ (8,388,608), while IBM abandoned the Quantum Volume metric after failing to surpass 512. Krupansky is skeptical about the practicality of quantum error correction, deeming it “too horribly complex and complicated.” He concludes current quantum computing efforts lack “truly new (and exciting) ideas,” leaving the field at a standstill in 2025.
Where’s the Real Money in Quantum? Quantum Vendors to Capture Just 6% of Total Projected Impact
A recent analysis indicates that quantum technology vendors are projected to capture only 6% of the total economic impact expected from quantum computing. This figure underscores a significant gap between the broader potential of quantum-enabled transformation across industries and the direct revenues realized by companies supplying quantum hardware and software. In 2025, this disconnect raises critical questions about the business models and value-capture strategies of both established players and startups in the quantum ecosystem. As quantum hype continues, the data suggests that most of the economic gains from quantum breakthroughs may accrue to end users rather than to the technology vendors themselves, highlighting the importance of downstream innovation and adoption.
D-Wave Introduces New Developer Tools to Advance Quantum AI Exploration and Innovation
On August 4, 2025, D-Wave Quantum Inc. released a new open-source quantum AI toolkit and demo aimed at integrating annealing quantum computers with AI model training, particularly via PyTorch for restricted Boltzmann machine models. The demo shows quantum processors generating simple images, marking a “pivotal step” for quantum AI, according to Dr. Trevor Lanting, D-Wave’s chief development officer. The toolkit targets computationally intensive AI tasks, such as drug discovery and protein-DNA binding prediction—fields where D-Wave reports its quantum systems have already outperformed classical methods in partnerships with Japan Tobacco Inc., Jülich Supercomputing Centre, and TRIUMF.
Introducing Relay-BP
IBM researchers, led by Tristan Müller, have introduced Relay-BP, the fastest and most accurate real-time decoding algorithm for quantum LDPC (qLDPC) error correction to date. Detailed in a recent preprint, Relay-BP outperforms all prior state-of-the-art decoders—including BP+OSD—delivering about a 10x improvement in accuracy while matching or surpassing their speed and compactness across multiple hardware platforms, notably FPGAs. This breakthrough addresses the long-standing challenge in quantum computing of real-time error correction at scale, a key barrier to achieving fault-tolerant quantum computation in 2025.
Quantum Computing Stock IonQ Rises As Amazon Discloses $36.7 Million Stake
Amazon disclosed a $36.7 million stake in IonQ, acquiring 854,207 shares, as revealed in a 13F SEC filing. Following this news, IonQ’s stock rose 3.1% early Wednesday to 43.32 after climbing 5.4% on Tuesday, signaling renewed investor interest. IonQ is set to report its second-quarter earnings, marking the start of 2025’s quantum computing financial results, with attention on its performance after a previously reported bigger-than-expected Q2 loss but revenue exceeding expectations.
The carbon nanotube gatemon qubit
In a 2025 Nature Communications article, H. Riechert and colleagues report the first coherent control of a gatemon qubit based on a single carbon nanotube integrated into a circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) system. Utilizing a hexagonal boron nitride substrate, this architecture achieved record coherence times for carbon nanotube-based qubits—200 ns, surpassing previous nanotube qubit implementations (typically ~10 ns). The device leverages the one-dimensionality and minimal electronic degrees of freedom of carbon nanotubes, with charge noise identified as the key decoherence factor. This work not only demonstrates the feasibility of superconducting carbon nanotube qubits but also paves the way for probing microscopic fermionic processes in low-dimensional quantum conductors, marking a significant step forward for hybrid quantum architectures in 2025.
Discarded particles dubbed 'neglectons' may unlock universal quantum computing
Researchers have identified 'neglectons'—previously overlooked particles—as a potential key to universal quantum computing. According to the study, these particles had been dismissed as irrelevant but now show promise for improving quantum error correction and system stability. The findings suggest that harnessing neglectons could address critical bottlenecks in fault-tolerant quantum computation. This development is notable in 2025 as scientific and industry efforts intensify to overcome quantum error rates and scalability challenges. The discovery positions neglectons as a possible new resource for advancing quantum computer architectures, emphasizing the importance of revisiting disregarded phenomena in the search for robust, universal quantum technologies.
ParityQC’s Ginzel Et Al. Introduce Noise-Bias-Preserving Replacement-Type Quantum Gates For Reduced Error Correction Overhead
Physicists Florian Ginzel, Javad Kazemi, Valentin Torggler, and Wolfgang Lechner at ParityQC have proposed a new class of quantum gates—replacement-type gates—introducing a method that departs from traditional pairwise qubit interactions and rotations. Detailed in the preprint "Replacement-type Quantum Gates," these gates preserve the intrinsic noise bias of hardware like Rydberg atoms and spin qubits, thus enabling more resource-efficient asymmetric or even classical error correction and significantly reducing error correction overhead. Concrete X and CNOT gate implementations are suggested for major hardware platforms, aligning with the ParityQC Architecture and buttressed by an international patent application.
Universal quantum computation using Ising anyons from a non-semisimple topological quantum field theory
In a paper published August 5, 2025, in Nature Communications, Filippo Iulianelli, Sung Kim, Joshua Sussan, and Aaron D. Lauda introduce a novel topological quantum computation framework rooted in non-semisimple topological quantum field theory . Traditional Ising anyons, found in the ν = 5/2 fractional quantum Hall state, are limited to Clifford gates by braiding, thus falling short of universal quantum computation. The authors demonstrate that by extending the Ising model with a single new anyon type—emerging from a non-semisimple TQFT—universal quantum computation via braiding alone becomes possible.
Project Leap: quantum-proofing the financial system
The BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre, alongside the Bank of Italy, Bank of France, Deutsche Bundesbank, Nexi-Colt, and Swift, has launched Phase Two of Project Leap to address quantum computing’s threat to financial security. The initiative’s first phase demonstrated post-quantum cryptographic protocols between two central banks, advancing knowledge on quantum-resistant security. Two BIS papers—one from July 2025 outlining a quantum-readiness roadmap, and another from October 2024 analyzing quantum computing’s risks and opportunities for the financial sector—underscore these efforts. As quantum computing evolves, Project Leap’s focus on implementing and testing quantum-safe protocols becomes increasingly critical for safeguarding core financial infrastructure.
Israel’s QuamCore raises $26M to build million-qubit quantum computer
Israeli startup QuamCore has secured $26 million in Series A funding—bringing its total to $35 million—to develop a quantum computer capable of supporting 1 million qubits in a single cryostat, a hundredfold increase over current leaders like IBM and Google, which manage about 5,000 qubits per cryostat. Led by Sentinel Global and joined by several major funds plus a $4 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority, the investment will accelerate chip production, prototype integration, and laboratory expansion. QuamCore’s architecture integrates superconducting digital control logic inside the cryostat, cutting cabling needs and thermal bottlenecks while enabling built-in error correction, a significant stride toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Unfolded Codes: Hardware-Efficient Magic States for Universal Quantum Computation - Alice & Bob
Alice & Bob have introduced “Unfolded Codes,” a new framework for constructing hardware-efficient magic states, which are essential for achieving universal quantum computation. Their approach focuses on reducing the resource overhead traditionally required for magic state distillation, a major bottleneck on current quantum hardware architectures. By leveraging code structures tailored to the hardware’s native error processes, Unfolded Codes allow for more effective magic state preparation. This method promises to streamline fault-tolerant operations by aligning error correction with hardware realities, potentially making universal quantum computation more feasible. In light of persistent challenges around magic state distillation, Alice & Bob’s work provides a targeted, practical solution aimed directly at improving near-term quantum computational capabilities.
Alice & Bob & Inria Boost Quantum Computing With Efficient Magic State Preparation
Alice & Bob, in collaboration with Inria, have unveiled an improved magic state preparation protocol for superconducting quantum computers, requiring only 53 noise-biased cat qubits—an 8.7% reduction compared to leading methodologies and an 8.7-fold reduction from Google’s recent proposal of 463 qubits. Their “Heart Code,” a two-dimensional unfolded code, also reduces quantum error correction cycles by five, enabling a five-fold speedup in preparation at error rates below one in a million. The protocol uses existing components in Alice & Bob’s architecture, bypassing the need for new hardware. CEO Thau Peronnin underscored that this approach “further de-risks our roadmap.”
Japan Activates Fully Domestic Quantum Computer, Open to Public at Expo 2025
Japan has launched its first fully domestic quantum computer, opening access to local users ahead of Expo 2025. Developed by a consortium that includes RIKEN and the University of Tokyo, this superconducting quantum computer signifies Japan’s progress in reducing reliance on foreign quantum technologies. The system, highlighted as being “fully domestic,” was built without overseas components, in contrast to prior collaborations with IBM. Public demonstrations are scheduled for Expo 2025 in Osaka, which is expected to raise national and international interest in Japan's quantum capabilities.
IonQ Secures $1.6 Billion to Power Quantum Projects: Is It a Buy Now?
IonQ has raised $1.6 billion to fund its quantum computing projects, according to a report from Nasdaq. The company plans to use this capital to accelerate research, enhance its quantum hardware, and expand commercial efforts. This significant investment highlights growing interest and confidence in IonQ’s approach within the competitive quantum computing landscape of 2025. While enthusiasm for IonQ’s funding is evident, the Nasdaq report notes that potential investors should weigh risks associated with the early-stage nature of quantum technology commercialization.