An unprecedented, real-world sprint to apply quantum (and AI adjacencies) to high-value industry problems drew more than 600 applicants from 60+ countries. It culminated in five winning solutions announced on the main stage at QWC 2025. 

NSF leaders Erwin Gianchandani and David Berkowitz unveiled the Foundation’s dual-track strategy to connect fundamental quantum research with real-world deployment—through shared testbeds (NQVL), SBIR and Translation-to-Practice programs, regional Engines, and global partnerships.

Quantum sensing is out of the lab and into the field. In this Market Acceleration session, CNAS’s Constanza Vidal Bustamante digs into how Mesa Quantum, Q-CTRL, and Infleqtion are shrinking clocks and inertial/RF systems, hardening them for certification, and using defense demand to stand up the photonics supply chain that will power civilian deployments next.

Fundamental physics picks global winners. Barak Dayan traces three discoveries—from Maxwell to entanglement—and a photonic path to million-qubit machines.

At QWC 2025, Oded Melamed unveiled Quantum Source’s deterministic photonic strategy: coupling single atoms and photons on-chip to shrink resource-state generators, run at room temperature, and push photonics toward million-qubit, fault-tolerant systems.

How do you explain quantum without losing the plot—or the truth? At QWC 2025, Charles Day (Physics Today), Nicole Yunger Halpern (NIST/UMD), Ben Stein (NIST), and Emily Conover (Science News) shared field-tested tactics: set the audience level, use “basic physics” storytelling, and pair genuine milestones with honest caveats. The goal: spark curiosity, avoid hype, and make cutting-edge science readable.

Quantum won’t replace HPC—it will supercharge it. At QWC 2025, Bob Sutor moderates Steve Brierley (Riverlane), Jan Goetz (IQM), Travis Humble (ORNL), and Masoud Mohseni on how to co-design QPUs with HPC: think error-correction data rates, low-jitter links, double-queue fixes, and workflows that offload the quantum-hard core while HPC does the heavy lift. The payoff: scalable hybrid systems for chemistry, materials, and physical-AI.

How do you regulate quantum without stifling innovation? At QWC 2025, Quantinuum leaders Kaniah Konkoly-Thege and Ryan McKenney broke down NQIA reauthorization, export controls, PQC migration, and supply-chain risks—arguing for rules that enable growth while protecting national security.

Former Air Force senior leader Troy Dunn shared how he went from quantum skeptic to champion—and what it takes to make quantum “within reach” for the DoD. His roadmap: build workforce on-ramps, hold the strategic “glance” long enough to see what’s changed, and co-write requirements with industry to accelerate operational impact.

Ethan Krimins of Quantum Research Sciences shared how the Department of Defense is moving from R&D to operational quantum applications. His roadmap highlights hardware, sensing, and mission-focused use cases as keys to winning contracts in a shifting defense landscape.

IQM’s Jan Goetz laid out a product-first blueprint for bringing quantum computers into HPC centers—on-prem deployments, software adapters, and a fidelity path that enables error correction and real scientific workflows.

Leaders from Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the U.S. dug into APAC’s quantum surge—homegrown superconducting systems, hybrid HPC–quantum strategies, and a pragmatic, software-first path to usable applications.

At QWC 2025, Aravind Ratnam (Q-CTRL) unveiled how quantum navigation is delivering secure, GPS-independent positioning in contested environments. Backed by DARPA’s RoQS program, Q-CTRL’s technology has already logged dozens of flight hours and is outperforming alternative navigation methods by more than 100×.

Riverlane’s Steve Brierley unveils DeltaKit and a practical path to scale the global QEC developer community—so real-time error correction becomes standard, not rare.

A real utility pilot: EPB, ORNL, NVIDIA, and IonQ use a CPU+GPU+QPU workflow to optimize grid operations—showing how partnerships turn quantum into commercial value.

How “enablement-first” policy, demand signals, and government-as-customer can speed responsible AI & quantum adoption—without sacrificing security or competitiveness.

A candid look at the quantum platform race—where each modality wins, how to tune for performance, and what investors and suppliers should prioritize to scale.

DOE’s Rima Oueid and QIC’s Paul Stimers detail the pivot from research to deployment: commercialization-first policy, grid testbeds, an expanded space-quantum coalition (Honeywell, IonQ, EPB), and clearer paths from SBIR/STTR to Phase III.

2025 Quantum World Congress International Forum leaders shared a clear message: move past zero-sum thinking, widen the talent pipeline beyond PhDs, and stand up quantum-specific standards and demand signals to speed commercialization.

USPS CIO Pritha Mehra shared how the Postal Service is modernizing its vast logistics network with AI, preparing for post-quantum cryptography, and eyeing quantum optimization as the next frontier.