McKinsey: in 2021, the investment in quantum computing market grew strongly and the talent gap expanded

（ picture source ： The Internet ）

From slowing global warming to reducing drug discovery time 、 change “ The rules of the game ”, Quantum technology has the potential to solve some of the world's most intractable challenges .

In McKinsey's latest quantum technology monitoring research ,2021 In, the capital investment in quantum computing market continued to soar , Its common goal is to promote the technology to achieve the ultimate value . among , Pharmacy 、 chemical 、 The four major industries of automobile and finance are expected to become the key beneficiary industries of quantum advantage , The study predicts , Arrive at the earliest 2035 year , Quantum computing will produce nearly 7000 Billion dollars worth . McKinsey's analysis points out that , The fields of financial services and life sciences will be the use cases for quantum computing to play the highest value for a long time （ Chart 1）.

However , With the rapid development of quantum technology , The demand for experts and talents in this field began to be scarce . this paper , McKinsey yeah 2021 Capital market of quantum technology development in 、 The talent gap is analyzed , And made a detailed observation of the major scientific progress that is taking place in China .

Chart 1（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

2021 year , Double the financing of quantum start-ups

McKinsey found out , Past year , Quantum focused startups have more than doubled the amount of financing they receive , from 2020 Year of 7 Billion dollars to 2021 Year of 14 Billion dollars （ As shown in the chart 2）.

Chart 2（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

among , The share from venture capital and other private investment is 2021 Increased in the second half of the year , Of the total investment 70% above （ higher than 2021 year 9 Of the month 50%）, This shows that there is a growing belief that the technology will provide a return .

On a global scale ,49% Private investment still comes from American companies , Next is the UK （17%） And Canada （14%）. so far , Only about... Of the private investment in this field 6% In China, .

In the three main fields of quantum technology （ Quantum computing 、 Quantum sensing 、 Quantum communication ） in , Quantum computing attracts the largest share of investment , To 2021 At the end of the year, the field gained 30 Billion dollar financing . This is because quantum computing is the biggest potential market , Expect to 2040 The year will exceed 900 Billion dollars .

The investment activities of quantum sensing and quantum communication are 2021 It also increased in the second half of the year , The total investment amounts to 4 $and 7 Billion dollars （ front 6 Months is 3 $and 6 Billion dollars ）.

In the U.S. , The government is more willing to provide financial support for these areas than private investors . But more than half of American public funds are used in quantum computing , The rest are used for quantum sensing and communication .

The entry threshold for new quantum start-ups has risen

2021 In the second half of the year , A large number of new quantum computing startups have been established , Include 15 A new company .

meanwhile , stay 2021 year , A quantum computing startup has made history as the first listed company ; And the old technology enterprises continue to strengthen the partnership in this field , Bring end-to-end solutions to the market .

Chart 3（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

However , Compared to three years ago , The speed at which new quantum technology start-ups enter the global market may begin to slow down （ Chart 3）, McKinsey believes there are many reasons for this .

First , In about 65% Driven by capital investment , The quantum hardware market is saturated , Raised the threshold for new entrants ; secondly , Although the investment amount is large , However, due to the immaturity of hardware, it is unable to support a wide range of use cases , It limits the development opportunities of emerging quantum software players ; meanwhile , Investors' preference for more mature start-ups may further inhibit other investment activities , Most of the money （90%） Will select input completed A、B、C and D The company of the ship .

Besides , The lack of talent may also play a role in boosting .

China's quantum technology has ushered in a period of rapid development

A large amount of money from the Chinese government has helped accelerate scientific progress and the development of quantum technology .

Quantum technology as the fourteenth five year plan （2021-2025 year ） Part of , The Chinese government announced that its financial support in this field is by far the largest among all countries . It is more than twice the investment of the EU government （153 Million pairs 72 Billion dollars ）、 More than eight times the investment of the US government （ Chart 4）.

Chart 4（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

This has promoted the development of more than a dozen quantum technology research institutions in China , And create an environment conducive to the rapid development of this technology . at present , China holds more than half of the world's quantum technology patents , by comparison , The European Union and the United States are 11% and 10%（ Chart 5）.

Chart 5（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

The talent gap has widened

As the ecosystem of quantum technology participants expands , The demand for talents in this field is also expanding . The McKinsey study found that , The talent gap is expanding significantly . By comparing the job recruitment demand of quantum computing talents with the annual number of graduates , It is found that the gap is as high as 1:3（ Chart 6）.

Chart 6（ picture source ： Mckinsey ）

McKinsey believes , To narrow this gap , One way is to improve the professional skills of undergraduates by further developing the master's degree program . However, although a large number of universities have set up research projects specializing in quantum technology , But around the world , There are still relatively few universities offering master's degrees in quantum technology （176 There are only 29 the ）, And almost half of these projects （41%） In the U.S. .

Link to the original text ：

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-funding-remains-strong-but-talent-gap-raises-concern

writing ：Mateusz Masiowski etc.

compile ： Wang Yan

edit ： Mu Yi

notes ： Ben Translated from “ Mckinsey ”, Do not represent Quantum outpost view .