Ana Lopes, chief of staff to senior vice-president of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at IBM, brings nearly two decades of experience translating deep tech research into commercial applications. With a background spanning academia, startups and corporate innovation (including roles at MIT and GE Ventures), she now focuses on identifying and scaling quantum computing investments. 

The following points summarise the key messages for corporate venture investors that emerged from her fireside chat on the future of quantum.

  • Quantum has moved from theory to early utility
    • The sector is no longer “10–20 years away”; early commercial use cases are emerging now. 
    • IBM and others are entering an “era of utility”, with customers already building applications on quantum systems. 
    • A key near-term milestone is “verifiable quantum advantage”, i.e., demonstrable outperformance versus classical computing. 
  • The value proposition is not just speed, but new problem-solving capability 
    • Quantum computing is positioned to solve problems that classical systems (even with AI and GPUs) cannot address due to physical limits. 
    • This is particularly relevant where systems need to model nature (e.g., chemistry, materials), which is inherently quantum.
  • Near-term commercial applications are becoming clearer 
    • Priority sectors include: 
      • Optimisation (e.g., logistics, financial modelling) 
      • Materials discovery and chemistry 
      • Financial services 
      • Life sciences (e.g., protein simulation) 
    • Early evidence of impact: 
      • Nearly 34% improvement in bond trading simulation with HSBC 
      • Successful simulation of a 303-amino-acid protein with Cleveland Clinic 
  • Investment focus is shifting up the stack 
    • Core infrastructure remains capital intensive, but venture opportunities are increasingly emerging at the application and software layer. 
    • Early-stage startups are building: 
      • Quantum-enabled machine learning 
      • Medical imaging applications 
      • Materials discovery platforms 
    • This creates a more venture-friendly profile compared with hardware-heavy bets. 
  • Ecosystem building is central to corporate venture strategy
    • IBM is actively fostering a startup ecosystem (e.g., partnerships with University of Chicago). 
    • Corporate VCs are positioned not just as capital providers but as platform enablers — offering access to infrastructure, customers and technical expertise.  
  • Startups have structural advantages in quantum commercialisation 
    • End users (e.g., pharma companies) are unlikely to build in-house quantum capabilities due to talent scarcity and cost. 
    • Startups can: 
      • Develop scalable, cross-client solutions 
      • Abstract away complexity 
      • Accelerate adoption across industries 
  • Strategic alignment remains paramount for CVCs 
    • Investments are prioritised where they: 
      • Align with corporate product strategy 
      • Address existing customer demand 
      • Can leverage the parent company’s distribution and infrastructure 
    • Financial returns matter, but strategic fit and ecosystem leverage are decisive.  
  • Collaboration and syndication are critical in a nascent field
    • Many investors remain “quantum curious” but lack technical expertise. 
    • Corporate VCs can play a convening role in: 
      • Facilitating technical diligence 
      • Connecting investors with domain experts 
      • Shaping early market understanding 
  • Quantum will complement, not replace, classical computing 
    • The future is a hybrid computing stack combining quantum, classical and AI systems. 
    • Personal quantum computing remains unlikely in the medium term; use cases will remain specialised and enterprise-driven. 

Implications for CVCs

  • The window is opening for application-layer investment strategies with more attractive risk-return profiles. 
  • Ecosystem positioning — rather than pure capital deployment — will differentiate leading corporate investors. 
  • Early engagement (even without immediate capital deployment) offers informational advantage in a technically complex market. 
  • The most compelling opportunities sit at the intersection of quantum + AI + industry-specific workflows, where real commercial value is beginning to emerge.

This summary was generated by AI and lightly edited by GCV staff