Thought Leadership
Quantum computing is set to fundamentally transform the digital economy. While many are still waiting for the long-promised quantum leap, a clear roadmap for the digital future is already taking shape.
Organizations that act early will unlock new opportunities, processes, and innovation cycles that already factor in the potential of quantum computers. The core strategy is a progressive three-stage model spanning today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow demanding both bold transformation and long-term vision.
Rethinking optimization: From perfection to real time
Imagine every digital decision being based on mathematical perfection: bids in programmatic advertising auctions, content recommendations, or A/B test variations — all precisely optimized in real time for millions of users. What still sounds like a high-gloss vision today is rapidly moving toward reality. Quantum computing is leaving the realm of theory and beginning to disrupt digital markets, setting new standards for efficiency and user experience.
The risk is clear: those who remain passive and assume the technology will eventually arrive on its own will fall behind the speed of progress. The quantum revolution will not happen in a single leap — it is unfolding step by step, and the first advances are already underway.
What matters today – 2026
1. Invisible threats and AI as an innovation driver
The most urgent challenge right now is “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later.” Data being harvested today in encrypted form could be decrypted in the near future using quantum computers — a game changer for security and trust. As a result, tech giants worldwide are investing heavily in post-quantum cryptography and new standards designed to protect digital business models for the future.
At the same time, artificial intelligence is becoming a key enabler of the next innovation wave. AI acts as a “conductor,” designing complex quantum circuits, correcting errors in unstable qubits, and supporting hardware development. Progress in AI is therefore a critical driver for the commercial readiness of quantum solutions.
2. Defense and exploration: security and talent as core assets
Defensive measures are becoming essential, especially in data-intensive industries such as finance and insurance. The adoption of post-quantum cryptography, hybrid encryption models, and crypto-agile architectures not only protects sensitive customer data but also strengthens business resilience against future threats.
In parallel, a new era of exploration is emerging. Companies are using quantum cloud platforms, internal challenges, and hackathons to evaluate which core problems are suitable for quantum computing. In doing so, they are building critical intellectual capital for the future. Talent with quantum expertise is becoming a strategic competitive advantage. The goal: turning defense into a strategic advantage and a clear signal of innovation and customer trust.
3. Case: Building crypto agility in financial infrastructure
Scenario: A central bank or large financial institution operates a mission-critical transaction infrastructure that must remain absolutely secure. A sudden switch in encryption standards would pose significant operational risks.
Solution: The institution implements a crypto-agile system. Instead of relying on a single fixed algorithm, the infrastructure is designed to allow encryption methods to be replaced dynamically without system downtime. Today, this enables hybrid approaches combining classical encryption and post-quantum cryptography. Tomorrow, it allows a seamless transition to fully post-quantum or future standards.
What matters tomorrow – 2028
1. The era of millisecond hunters
From around 2028 onward, early commercial quantum solutions are expected to tackle highly complex optimization problems. The digital economy stands to benefit significantly: ad budget optimization across thousands of channels, dynamic pricing in AdTech, last-mile logistics optimization, and hyper-personalization in real time.
Competitive advantage will come from extracting value out of data in ways that are not feasible today. The technical ecosystem will function as a high-performance team: classical high-performance computing as the workhorse, quantum computers as specialized engines for extreme problems, and AI acting as the orchestrator that distributes tasks and resources optimally.
2. Offensive strategy: optimization as a business enabler
Tomorrow, the focus shifts from defense to value creation. Key questions emerge: Where are the biggest bottlenecks? Conversion rate, logistics costs, churn rate?
Quantum computing will provide early commercial solutions for these challenges. Even small optimization gains in core processes — such as personalization, bidding strategies, or portfolio analytics — can have exponential effects on revenue, margins, and user experience.
Early adopters will actively translate business challenges into the mathematical language of quantum computing, laying the groundwork for the next generation of digital optimization.
3. Symbiosis: quantum power as an AI accelerator
Quantum computers are not expected to replace AI systems but to function as high-performance co-processors. They will accelerate the analysis of large, interconnected datasets — particularly in graph neural networks (GNNs) — and solve complex combinatorial problems that exceed classical computing limits.
Through hybrid cloud platforms, this capability becomes accessible and manageable for enterprises. The central question becomes: which optimization problem in your business model remains unsolved?
The quantum shift does not begin with finished products, but with the systematic identification and translation of strategic challenges.
4. Case: Optimizing graph-based AI models (social media and FinTech)
Scenario: A social media platform or payment provider uses graph neural networks (GNNs) to detect fraud patterns or recommend content and connections. Processing these highly interconnected datasets is extremely computationally intensive.
Solution: Specific compute-heavy tasks within GNNs—such as identifying key nodes (centrality) or detecting optimal communities—are offloaded to a quantum processor. This accelerates model training and enables real-time analysis of complex patterns, improving fraud detection and recommendation quality.
What matters the day after tomorrow – 2035
1. Architects of entirely new digital worlds
By around 2035, true disruptive potential is expected to emerge. Quantum computers will enable the simulation of complex systems at the molecular level, unlocking new products and value chains that were previously impossible from both a physical and economic standpoint.
Unlike generative AI, which creates new patterns from existing data, quantum computing simulates reality natively. This overcomes the combinatorial explosion that limits today’s AI systems, enabling breakthroughs in pharmaceuticals, materials science, and the creation of digital twins for entire markets and user ecosystems.
2. New digital foundations: causality, security, and ecosystems
The ability to simulate microscopic worlds with physical accuracy will enable AI systems to develop true causal understanding. Digital marketplaces will be governed not only by software but increasingly by physical principles.
Generative environments will emerge from foundational rules, grow dynamically, and form the basis for the next generation of digital products and business models.
3. Case: Developing AI with true “understanding” through simulation
Scenario: Today’s large language models excel at pattern recognition in text but lack genuine causal understanding or deep comprehension of human interactions.
Solution: A fault-tolerant quantum computer (FTQC) is used to simulate complex socio-economic micro-worlds. An AI system is placed within this simulation and learns causal relationships through interaction and observation.
Instead of merely imitating language, it develops a foundational model of reality. This enables entirely new types of digital products, such as AI consultants capable of strategic decision-making or autonomous agents conducting complex negotiations.
