Guest Post by Kimberly Brook
When President Trump announced the £31 billion Tech Prosperity Deal as part of his recent state visit to the UK, all the talk was about AI – understandably, given headline-grabbing figures such as Nvidia’s commitment to invest £2 billion into British AI startups. What wasn’t as widely noticed is that the deal also included major commitments on quantum, a key technology at risk of being overlooked in the AI hype.
Just a few years ago, even the idea of investing tens of billions into British AI startups wouldn’t have been possible. Machine learning techniques were being used to optimise ad targeting and content feeds. Very few people would have foreseen that large language models would shortly change everything from coding to video editing, with AI grabbing the lion’s share of all startup investment. That’s roughly where quantum is today.
Driven by fundamental breakthroughs in physics research, quantum covers several discrete technologies with a broad range of potential applications. Quantum computing could allow simulations to run at a scale beyond the scope of today’s most powerful supercomputers. Quantum sensing makes possible navigation independent of GPS and medical diagnostic imaging at a level of precision that today would be unimaginable. Quantum communications will change the nuts and bolts of encryption, with implications for everything from the financial system to military command-and-control systems.
And yet quantum is at risk of being overlooked by investors, with one report from TechMonitor showing a massive cooling of investor interest. In addition to a generally difficult fundraising environment, one culprit may be the surge towards all things AI.
The irony is that quantum, just like AI before it, has been built on government-backed infrastructure by researchers at some of Britain’s top universities. When this technology finally reaches the point of commercial viability – as it is starting to do – there will be tremendous benefits for British technologists and investors, but only if we can retain our talent and support quantum startups to grow domestically.
In our new report, Hype to Hardware, we call out four priority areas where British quantum startups need better support. First, we need the ability to produce the physical infrastructure underlying quantum computing – such as photonic chips – at an intermediate scale so that quantum startups aren’t forced to work with large-scale manufacturers overseas before they are ready. This has the added benefit of localising supply chains and developing our high-value manufacturing capabilities, all contributing to economic and technological resilience in a more unstable world.
Second, quantum startups need better skills and training support from universities so they can bridge the gap between technical and commercial talent. We recommend embedding entrepreneurship training early into all quantum-adjacent PhD programmes.
Third, quantum startups need investment – but not from impatient investors looking for a quick write-off on their taxes. As one of the most complex areas of innovation, quantum needs investors with real technical depth and a longer investment horizon.
And fourth, quantum needs continued public support, such as InnovateUK’s grants programme, tailored to a sector where match funding is less readily available.
The government sees the British startup sector, and specifically our record of AI leadership, as a massive success story – and rightly so. With the flood of interest in AI, it is safe to say the baton of underwriting AI investment can be passed to the private sector. The same is not true of quantum, which still needs a high level of public investment to reach its potential. Withdraw it too early and the quantum innovators will move elsewhere, taking the UK’s edge in an emerging strategic technology with them.
Kimberley Brook is an innovation leader specialising in deep tech commercialisation and ecosystem development. At Capital Enterprise, she works across the UK’s research and innovation landscape to design and deliver programmes that accelerate the growth of emerging technology ventures, including those in quantum technologies.
Previously, Kimberley managed the Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre (QTEC) at the University of Bristol, one of the UK’s first dedicated quantum venture builders, where she supported over 40 PhD researchers to launch commercial spin-outs which underpin the quantum industry and have gone on to raise over £150 million in funding. She continues to advise national partners on strengthening the UK’s quantum ecosystem, supporting founders to translate cutting-edge research into real-world impact.
Image: Photo by Google DeepMind on Pexels
