Quantum World Congress 2025 In Review
As the global quantum ecosystem gathered during the International Year of Quantum, QWC 2025 delivered three days of breakthroughs, bold leadership, and real momentum across science, industry, policy, and investment. From record-setting technologies to global policy coordination, the conversations didn’t just explore the future—they helped shape it.
BY THE NUMBERS2025 Wasn’t just another conference — it was a milestone.
In the International Year of Quantum, QWC 2025 marked a defining checkpoint for the field. The scale of participation—from global policymakers and national labs to founders and investors—signaled how far quantum has come and how urgently the world is investing in what comes next. These numbers reflect more than attendance; they represent a growing alignment around quantum’s role in shaping future industries, economies, and security.
FEATURED KEYNOTESMainstage Moments That Made Waves.
From headline-making announcements to thought leadership that shaped the global conversation, QWC 2025 keynotes delivered moments that extended far beyond the room. Here are a few of our favorites.
INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIONWhere The World Gathers.
Quantum World Congress 2025 was global by design and by impact. Delegations from 30+ countries gathered to share priorities, align strategies, and build partnerships shaping the future of quantum. With 11 national quantum updates from around the world, QWC offered a rare, side-by-side view of how governments are investing, coordinating, and competing—turning national ambition into global momentum.
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Argentina
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Australia
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Austria
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Brazil
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Canada
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Chile
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Costa Rica
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Denmark
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Estonia
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European Union
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Finland
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France
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Germany
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India
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Israel
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Italy
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Japan
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The Netherlands
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New Zealand
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Nigeria
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Norway
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Poland
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Saudi Arabia
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Singapore
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South Korea
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Spain
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Sweden
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Switzerland
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United Kingdom
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United States
2025 SPONSORSPowered by the Ecosystem.
Quantum World Congress 2025 was made possible by an extraordinary coalition of sponsors and partners spanning industry, government, academia, and investment. Their support reflected more than sponsorship—it signaled confidence in quantum’s commercial readiness and a shared commitment to accelerating real-world impact, bringing together global technology leaders, emerging quantum companies, research institutions, and ecosystem builders to shape a program where breakthroughs met buyers, policy met practice, and innovation moved closer to deployment.
2025 SPEAKERSThe Voices Driving Quantum Forward.
The 2025 program featured one of the most comprehensive and globally representative speaker lineups in Quantum World Congress history. Across mainstage keynotes, technical sessions, policy forums, and industry deep dives, leaders from companies, startups, governments, national labs, universities, and investment firms brought clarity, candor, and hard-earned insight into where quantum stands—and where it’s headed next—sharing lessons from the front lines on scaling hardware, securing systems, building talent pipelines, aligning international strategy, and translating quantum capability into mission-ready solutions. Explore the representative list below.
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Zulfi Alam
Corporate Vice President
Microsoft Quantum
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Petra Andren
CEO
Quantum Australia
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Dr. Seung-Wook Baek
Director, Division of Quantum Technology
National Research Foundation of Korea
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Dr. Jonathan Bagger
CEO
American Physical Society
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Naftali Bennett
Former Israeli Prime Minister
Board Member, Quantum Source
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Dr. David Berkowitz
Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
National Science Foundation
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Dr. Adam Black
Section Head, Quantum Optics
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
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Dr. Steve Brierley
Founder & CEO
Riverlane
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![Dr. Gretchen Campbell]()
Dr. Gretchen Campbell
Associate Vice President for Quantum Research and Education
University of Maryland
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Ana Maria Cetto
Research Professor, Institute of Physics
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Martin Charbonneau
Head of Quantum-Safe Networks
Nokia
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Dr. Charles Day
Senior Editor
Physics Magazine
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Niccolo de Masi
Chairman & CEO
IonQ
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Donna Dodson
Cybersecurity Technologist and Senior Strategic Advisor
EvolutionQ
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Dr. Marcus Doherty
Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Quantum Brilliance
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Dr. JD Dulny
Vice President and Head of Quantum Information Sciences
Booz Allen
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Preston Dunlap
Founder and CEO
Arkenstone Ventures
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Dr. Andrew Dzurak
CEO & Founder
Diraq
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Kinsey Fabrizio
President
Consumer Technology Association
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Dr. Jake Farinholt
Senior Quantum Physicist
Booz Allen
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Elana Fine
Chair of the Board
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
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Dr. Jay Gambetta
IBM Fellow and VP
IBM Quantum
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Dr. Erwin Gianchandani
Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships
National Science Foundation
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Dr. Joseph Hagmann
Quantum Physicist
MITRE
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Dr. Michael Hayduk
Deputy Director
Air Force Research Lab
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Rajeeb Hazra
President & CEO
Quantinuum
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Freeke Heijman
Vice President
European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC)
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Dr. Masahiro Horibe
Deputy Director
G-QuAT
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Dr. Travis Humble
Director of Quantum Science Center
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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Dr. Said Jahanmir
Executive Secretary, Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing
National Science and Technology Council
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Dr. Lara Jehi
Chief Research Information Officer
Cleveland Clinic
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Jennifer Jones
CEO
Howard County Economic Development Authority
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Outi Keski-Äijö
Head of Quantum Computing Campaign
Business Finland
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Matthew Kinsella
CEO
Infleqtion
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Kaniah Konkoly-Thege
Chief Legal Officer, SVP Government Relations
Quantinuum
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Michael Kratsios*
President's Science and Technology Advisor
Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House
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Dr. James Kushmerick
Director, Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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Ambassador Vinay Kwatra
Ambassador of India to the United States
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Lisa Lambert
CEO
Quantum Industry Canada
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Edy Liongosari
Chief Research Scientist
Accenture
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Paul Lipman
Chief Strategy Officer
Infleqtion
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Dr. Jay Lowell
Principal Senior Technical Fellow, Chief Scientist for Boeing Disruptive Computing and Networks
The Boeing Company
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Dr. Andre Marshall
Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact
George Mason University
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Pritha Mehra
Chief Information Officer & Executive Vice President
United States Postal Service
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Oded Melamed
CEO
Quantum Source
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Dr. Celia Merzbacher
Executive Director
Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C)
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Governor Wes Moore
Governor of Maryland
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Dr. MICHELE MOSCA
Co-Founder, President & CEO
EvolutionQ
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Rima Oueid
Senior Commercialization Executive
Department of Energy
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Dr. Darryll Pines
President
University of Maryland
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Curtis Priem
Co-Founder & Inventor
NVIDIA
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Governor JB Pritzker
Governor of Illinois
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Anthony Pugliese
Chief Commercial Officer & Director
Office of Technology Commercialization, US Department of Energy
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Minister Sakari Puisto
Minister of Economic Affairs Finland
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James Quigley
Commissioner & Chairman of the Board
Fairfax County Economic Development Agency
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Buddy Rizer
Ecxecutive Director
Loudoun County Economic Development Authority
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Dr. Michael Rosenblatt
Director of the Federal Science and Technology Policy Directorate and National Quantum Strategy (NQS) Secretariat
Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada
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Dr. Robert Rudnitsky
Division Chief, Strategy and Planning, Office of Advanced Manufacturing
National Institute of Standards and Technology
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Pallabi Saboo
Founder, Harmonia Holdings Group
Trustee, Connected DMV
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Ambassador Jarmo Sareva
Consul General, Ambassador
Consulate General of Finland in New York
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Dr. Shintaro Sato
Fellow, Head of Quantum Laboratory
Fujitsu Research
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Dr. Martin Schmidt
President
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Sean Silbert
Senior Advisor, Innovation, Technology & Science
Embassy of the Kingdon of the Netherlands
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Stu Solomon
Chair
Connected DMV
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Paul Stimers
Partner
Holland & Knight
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Ebony Stocks
Interim President & CEO
Prince George's Economic Development Corporation
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Dr. Bob Sutor
CEO & Founder
Sutor Group
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Dr. Charles Tahan
Partner
Microsoft Quantum
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Paul Terry
CEO
Photonic
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George Thomas
President & CEO
Connected DMV
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Don Upson
Founder & Chairman
Government Business Executive Forum
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Bill Vass
Chief Technology Officer
Booz Allen
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Dr. Yaakov Weinstein
Chief Scientist, Quantum Technologies
MITRE
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Dr. CARL WILLIAMS
CEO
CJW Quantum Consulting
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Jason Zander
Executive Vice President
Microsoft
2025 STARTUP PITCH COMPETITIONWhere Quantum Startups Took Center Stage.
The Quantum Startup Pitch Competition returned in 2025 as a high-signal showcase for companies ready to scale quantum innovation into real-world impact. Presented by Booz Allen, the competition brought together emerging leaders in computing, sensing, photonics, and quantum-AI convergence to pitch live before investors, industry experts, and government decision-makers. More than a demo day, the competition underscored QWC’s role as a launchpad—connecting breakthrough science with capital, customers, and partners prepared to move fast.
2025 GLOBAL INDUSTRY CHALLENGEFrom Challenge to Deployment.
The Global Industry Challenge turned quantum ambition into real-world execution at scale. Drawing more than 600 applicants from 60+ countries, the Challenge brought researchers, startups, and students together in a fast-paced, global sprint to apply quantum computing—and AI adjacencies—to high-value industry problems spanning finance, insurance, infrastructure, energy, and life sciences. Hosted as a centerpiece of the International Year of Quantum, the program culminated in five winning solutions announced live on the Quantum World Congress 2025 mainstage, demonstrating a decisive shift from research to deployment and proving what’s possible when industry challenges meet global quantum talent.
2025 QUANTUM LEADERSHIP AWARDSHonoring the Leaders Who Moved the Field.
The Quantum Leadership Awards recognized the individuals and organizations whose leadership turned quantum progress into measurable impact. Presented live at Quantum World Congress 2025, the awards honored pioneers across industry, government, academia, and global organizations—leaders shaping quantum’s trajectory through breakthrough research, system-scale engineering, national strategy, and international collaboration. Together, the 2025 honorees reflect the full arc of the quantum ecosystem and the human leadership powering its momentum.
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Dr. Patricia "Patty" Lee
2025 INDUSTRY PIONEER OF THE YEAR
Quantinuum
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Sylvie Retailleau
2025 GOVERNMENT PIONEER OF THE YEAR
Professor at Université Paris-Saclay, Former Minister of the French Republic
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Dr. John Preskill
2025 ACADEMIC PIONEER OF THE YEAR
California Institute of Technology -
International Year of Quantum Science and Technology
2025 ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR
2025 VIDEO LIBRARYPress Play on the Future.
Relive the moments that defined Quantum World Congress 2025. From mainstage keynotes and global policy updates to startup pitches and leadership awards, this video library captures the conversations, breakthroughs, and voices that shaped the year quantum took center stage. Dive in to explore the ideas—and the people—moving the field forward.