Quantum computing has spent years living in theory papers, lab experiments, and corporate road maps. This week, it moved a step closer to public consequence.

Google announced a partnership with the United Kingdom’s National Quantum Computing Centre that will allow British researchers to access its latest quantum processor, known as Willow. Rather than keeping the chip confined to internal experiments, Google is opening it to outside proposals, inviting scientists to test whether quantum computing can finally solve real world problems that conventional computers cannot.

The move signals a shift in how quantum technology is developing. Instead of competing quietly behind closed doors, major players are beginning to treat quantum computing as shared infrastructure, similar to how cloud computing expanded in its early years.

Google’s Willow chip, first unveiled in 2024, is considered one of the most advanced quantum processors currently available. Quantum computers operate differently from traditional machines, using principles of particle physics rather than binary logic. In theory, this allows them to perform certain calculations exponentially faster, particularly in areas like molecular simulation, materials science, and complex optimization problems.

Until now, that promise has remained largely experimental.

By granting UK researchers access through an open competition, Google and the national lab are attempting to answer a practical question that has hovered over quantum computing for more than a decade. What is it actually useful for?

Researchers whose proposals are accepted will work alongside engineers from Google and the UK quantum lab to design and run experiments directly on the Willow processor. The goal is not just academic progress, but discovery of applications that could eventually translate into industry, medicine, or national infrastructure.

According to Professor Paul Stevenson of the University of Surrey, the partnership puts UK researchers in an unusually strong position. Access to cutting edge quantum hardware remains rare, and most scientists work with simulations rather than real machines. That gap has slowed progress across the field.

The collaboration also benefits Google. Quantum computing requires expertise across physics, mathematics, and engineering, and academic researchers often explore ideas companies would not prioritize on their own. Opening Willow to external use allows Google to test the chip’s limits while accelerating innovation it does not have to fully direct.

A crowded race with long timelines

Google is not alone. Amazon, IBM, and several specialized firms are racing to develop practical quantum computers. In the UK, companies like Quantinuum, Quantum Motion, ORCA, and Oxford Ionics already operate machines hosted by the National Quantum Computing Centre.

Quantinuum, which has major operations in Cambridge and the United States, reached a valuation of roughly $10 billion last year. That figure reflects growing confidence that quantum computing will eventually move beyond theory, even if the timeline remains uncertain.

Some experts believe machines capable of meaningful real world impact could emerge within the next decade. Others caution that breakthroughs often arrive slower than expected. What has changed is the tone. Quantum computing is no longer discussed as a distant future, but as a field entering its proving phase.

Dr Michael Cuthbert, director at the National Quantum Computing Centre, said the partnership could accelerate discovery in areas such as chemistry, life sciences, materials, and fundamental physics. These are domains where classical computers struggle because the number of variables grows too large to handle efficiently.

Government bets and economic expectations

The UK government has made quantum computing a strategic priority. Officials have committed £670 million to support the sector as part of the country’s broader industrial strategy. Estimates suggest quantum technologies could contribute £11 billion to the UK economy by 2045.

Those projections are ambitious, and not guaranteed. However, they reflect a broader recognition that computing power shapes economic power. Just as early investment in the internet and cloud infrastructure paid dividends decades later, governments now see quantum computing as a long term wager on national competitiveness.

What remains unresolved is whether quantum computing will follow the same path as artificial intelligence. AI moved rapidly from research labs into everyday life once hardware, data, and incentives aligned. Quantum computing faces harder physical constraints, and its use cases are narrower.

Still, access matters. Technologies mature faster when more people can test them, break them, and question their limits.

For now, Willow is not changing daily life. But it represents a transition point. Quantum computing is beginning to leave the closed world of specialists and enter a phase where outcomes, not promises, will determine its future.

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Quantum technology has always been hard to explain. It deals with particles so small and strange that even experts struggle to describe what is happening. Yet behind the complexity lies a truth that is starting to surface. Quantum might soon become as transformative as artificial intelligence and possibly even bigger.

The field that once lived only in theory is now moving into hardware. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Quantinuum are racing to build quantum computers, sensors, and communication systems. Microsoft’s latest Majorana chip is one example, designed to make quantum systems more stable and less error-prone.

For years, AI dominated the headlines. It was easy to understand, easy to use, and quick to deploy. Quantum, on the other hand, required labs, lasers, and near absolute-zero temperatures. But things are changing fast.

Researchers are finding ways to build qubits, the core building blocks of quantum computers with synthetic diamonds, allowing them to work at higher temperatures and with greater efficiency. Companies like Element Six, a subsidiary of De Beers, are now creating industrial-grade quantum diamonds in partnership with Amazon Web Services, paving the way for more accessible hardware.

The potential scale is enormous. Analysts at McKinsey project the quantum sector could reach 97 billion dollars by 2035. That is still smaller than AI’s trillion-dollar forecast, but the real measure is not in money, it is in impact.

Professor Sir Peter Knight of Imperial College London describes it simply: “Problems that would take the age of the universe to solve could one day be computed in seconds.”

That kind of power could change everything from drug discovery to energy systems. In healthcare, quantum computers could map endless combinations of molecules to design precise, personalized medicines. Google’s new Willow chip already demonstrated how a quantum processor could solve a problem in five minutes that would take the world’s fastest supercomputer ten septillion years.

The same capability could transform global industries. Airbus is testing quantum algorithms to load cargo more efficiently, saving thousands of kilos of fuel. The UK National Grid is investing in quantum models to optimize how power flows across thousands of generators. Even navigation could change, researchers at Imperial College London recently tested a quantum compass that works underground where GPS fails.

These breakthroughs are not limited to science. They also touch national security. Experts warn that quantum systems will eventually break today’s encryption standards, unlocking everything from government secrets to personal data. This looming moment is known as Q-day, when a fully operational quantum computer becomes powerful enough to decrypt traditional systems.

Governments and tech firms are already preparing. Apple and Signal have rolled out post-quantum encryption keys designed to withstand these future attacks. But older encrypted data remains vulnerable. Intelligence agencies are already harvesting and storing data they cannot yet read, waiting for the day quantum decryption becomes possible.

Professor Alan Woodward of the University of Surrey calls it “harvest now, decrypt later.” Once Q-day arrives, everything encrypted by older systems could become transparent overnight.

Still, many experts believe quantum’s benefits will outweigh its risks. Quantum sensors already enable more precise brain scans, helping doctors study movement disorders and childhood epilepsy without keeping patients still. In transportation, quantum navigation could keep airplanes and subways connected even when satellite signals drop.

As Rajeeb Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum, told the BBC, “We as consumers will touch the impacts of quantum computing in almost every walk of our lives. It could be as big as AI — if not bigger.”

The question is no longer whether quantum works. It is how soon we will be ready for it. The technology that once lived in cold labs is warming up fast. And when it arrives, the world may have to rethink not only how we compute, but how we secure, measure, and even understand information itself.

Read the original report by Zoe Kleinman at BBC.

For more Laterstack analysis, explore Quantinuum Helios quantum computer could bring quantum breakthroughs closer to real life and NVIDIA just built the bridge between quantum and classical computing.