Computers helped put into motion the revolution that powered much of the world's digitalization in the 20th century. And now quantum computing — which uses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems that classical computers would find impossible — looks set to act as the engine for innovation in the 21st century.

Quantum has the potential to unlock opportunities in everything from the green revolution to drug discovery and computerized simulations, reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and creating entirely new technological solutions. But as tech frontiers continue to be pushed forward, making the quantum leap requires as much expertise and innovation as going from a pre-computer age to the digital era.

Globally, investments in quantum technology startups reached record levels in 2022, with $2.35 billion set aside for the technology. Of that investment, around 75% is into companies operating in the quantum computing sector — and most are less than two years old.

But alongside private investment, government support is helping businesses in the quantum technology space. The government has provided over £1 billion in funding for quantum since 2014, and has committed £2.5 billion for the next decade (2024-34). The UK government is at the forefront of bolstering success in quantum through support for startups, including London- and Bristol-based company Phasecraft.

Working smarter, not harder

"Phasecraft is the quantum algorithms company," said Cat Mora, director of research operations at Phasecraft. The company was founded in 2018 by Ashley Montanaro, John Morton, and Toby Cubitt, with a single mission that has remained its north star since its creation: "Develop quantum algorithms that address useful problems."

Phasecraft's cofounders recognized the potential of quantum to speed up operations and advance the field of computing. But they also recognized that by working on the algorithms that power quantum computers, as much as the hardware, they could make big strides. "We could improve the way algorithms were thought through and designed to be able to deliver at least part of the promise of quantum computing a lot earlier," Mora said. 

Building ever-bigger quantum hardware is costly and expensive, but fine-tuning the algorithms that power those computers can improve performance at a lower cost and with less use of resources and space.

"A lot of our R&D work has actually come to fruition and we now have clear indications and exact results showing that yes, we do not need a million qubits or a million operations on a quantum computer to do something that is extremely useful and beyond the reach of classical computation," Mora said. The algorithms being developed by Phasecraft will mean that future generations of quantum computers can be smaller, more efficient, and more effective in the long run.

Supercharged growth

The speed at which Phasecraft has helped accelerate the quantum revolution has only been matched by the pace at which it has expanded. When Mora joined three years ago, the company was just 14 people. Today, it's 29, and growing to capitalize on the opportunity of what quantum brings not just to the UK, but to the whole world.

"It's an entirely, radically new technology," Mora said. "Answering that question is almost like if you go back to the early 19th or 20th century and asked how a computer is going to transform the world."

Those changes may be evolutionary as well as revolutionary, Mora said. But they'll be felt by us all. "You might not see it directly, but [quantum] will enable the new discoveries, and new and improved efficiencies, that will just make life easier," she said. In the years and decades to come, quantum will prove to be a transformative technology that will touch all our lives.

Out of this world expansion

Another area of massive growth, and a sector in which the UK is taking a leading role, is space. "The UK space industry is no longer just science fiction, it's a thriving sector employing nearly 50,000 individuals across 1,590 companies," said Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State for Science, Research, and Innovation for the UK government.

From spaceports in Cornwall and the Shetland Isles, where SaxaVord is the first spaceport in Europe to provide vertical launches, to small satellite companies like Skyrora and Orbex leading the way in getting companies up to space, in this sector the UK is equipping companies with the tools to succeed.

Government support has helped companies like SatVu, which uses satellites to act as a worldwide, hyper-accurate thermometer to track the globe's temperature at an accuracy, frequency, and resolution never seen before, to grow. It's also boosted preexisting giants like Eutelsat-OneWeb and AstraZeneca, who are harnessing space tech for global connectivity and to develop groundbreaking healthcare solutions, respectively.

How the UK supports startups

Across both the space and quantum sectors, the UK has put in place programs to support the development of technology within the country, boosting home-grown startups that can meaningfully change the world beyond the UK's borders.

"For about a decade now the UK government has made quantum a priority and there has been long-term investment in the quantum strategy and dependent initiatives," Mora said. "That has been critical throughout."

The same is true in space. "The UK's space industry is more than just rockets and satellites — it's an investment in our future," Griffith said. "It's about inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to reach for the stars, while creating tangible benefits for everyone on Earth."

As for quantum, "it's still very far from being a mature technology, and even mature technologies benefit from R&D," Mora said. Quantum is now "transitioning from a purely 'blue sky' research area into an area that is actually about innovation."

That support has turned into action: Since 2014, the UK has funded more than 470 postgraduate students working on quantum technologies or related disciplines. The country ranks third in the world for the quality and impact of its quantum science, as measured by scholarly outputs. And it has a 9% share in the global market of quantum technologies, with the ambition to capture 15% by 2033.

Making waves globally

The UK occupies an outsized position in the world of quantum. "It's really a global ecosystem," Mora said. "The competition for skills and talent is a global one."

And being able to maintain that high profile that the UK has developed in the last few years as a leading quantum country will be "critical," she said, to fuel continued growth. The same is true for space, where the UK has built meaningful relationships to help the entire planet.

"We're collaborating with international partners on missions like CleanSpace One, removing debris from orbit and protecting our space environment," Griffith said. "And the Lunar Pathfinder mission, where UK technology will search for water ice on the Moon, [is] paving the way for future exploration."

The support for quantum and space in the UK has been both explicit, with government funding of companies and projects, and more implicit: Most of Phasecraft's highly skilled R&D team have studied for a PhD in the UK, and most have received government funding throughout their studies.

It's a vindication, Mora said, of the long-term plan to promote and support technology within the UK, and part of the plan to make the country a world leader in this technology of tomorrow.

To find out more about how your business can benefit from Research & Development in the UK, click here.

This post was created by Insider Studios with the Department for Business and Trade in collaboration with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.