Quantum advantage is coming – but the world isn’t ready
Quantum hardware developers promise “quantum advantage” – the moment a quantum computer surpasses a classical one on a useful task – by 2030-2035. It is likely happening in that timeframe, since many companies are working on quantum hardware: giants, like IBM, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and a lot of startups, like IonQ, Quantinuum, D-Wave, Rigetti, PsiQuantum, Xanadu, Pasqal, QuEra, IQM and a few more. Many talented individuals are working on perfecting the hardware and the software stacks.
But outside of this quantum tech bubble people don’t know little about quantum computing.
Awareness is low, but the term is familiar: A 2024 UK study by the QCS Hub found that while 60% of people had heard of quantum computers, only 11% claimed to have “more than a little knowledge”.
Unfamiliarity is the norm: A July 2025 survey on advanced technologies by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs was very direct, stating that a large majority of Americans (79%) are “somewhat or very unfamiliar” with quantum computing. Germany and France are not much better either: a 2025 European survey by YouGov found that while 78% of adults in France and Germany were aware of the term “quantum technology”, only one third of respondents had a good level of understanding about what quantum is, and 49% had heard of it but didn’t know what it is.
Excitement about potential: The same European survey found that despite a low level of technical understanding, there is excitement about the potential. People were most optimistic about its impact on healthcare (53%), energy (47%), and cybersecurity (44%).
Where are the gaps?
Quantum advantage will be a missed opportunity if only a small minority can use it. When powerful enough quantum computers are ready, when we reach the quantum advantage, we have to be ready to use them. Right now, we are facing three critical gaps:
The hardware: Quantum computers are not powerful enough. But as mentioned before, a lot of companies and universities are working on research. Quantum advantage will very probably be reached by 2030-2035.
The algorithms: Quantum computers will only be useful if they can execute algorithms solving real-life problems – and solving them faster than classical computers. We need to have a lot more algorithms. Today we only have a few hundred of them (quantumalgorithmzoo.org lists 74), with a few dozen major, distinct algorithmic classes.
The talent: The algorithms are developed by people. Today we have roughly 20-30 million software developers in the world, but only a tiny fraction, less than 0.1% can program quantum computers. We need a lot more people who can come up with new algorithms and who can program quantum computers.
How to bridge the gaps?
The gap is wide, but it is not too late to start working on it.
Policymakers have to get the education system ready to teach quantum computing. Basic concepts can be introduced at a young age, even before university: a 2023 study by Quantinuum and the University of Oxford found that high school students, using a math-free, picture-based teaching method, could pass a postgraduate-level quantum exam. Policymakers should support integrating quantum computing concepts into school curricula, incentivize universities to create flexible online courses for professionals, and fund national awareness campaigns. Tax breaks and grants should be used to incentivize corporate training and upskilling for the existing software developer workforce.
Businesses must invest. Business leaders have to get their businesses ready to use quantum computers. Investing in this after quantum advantage is reached is too late: they will have a competitive disadvantage against other companies waking up earlier.
Quantum computing companies have to provide training, online courses for professionals. There is a growing number of university courses, but we need flexible online programs for the existing, not yet quantum-trained developers, and accessible courses for business leaders. It is in these companies’ best interest to get as many people as possible ready to develop new and powerful quantum algorithms.
Media and the arts can be used to spark fascination. Moving beyond reporting qubit counts and using storytelling, art, film, and even video games will help make the general public more aware of quantum computing. Raising awareness is key to finding the talent who’ll solve the problems of the next generation.
Technology is moving fast, but education has to catch up. It is key to unlock the full potential of quantum computing.
A variety of companies, organizations, and associations offer learning materials, resources, and courses on quantum computing. These resources cater to a wide range of audiences, from beginners and students to professionals and researchers. In this post we have collected a wide range of them, from free, introductory training, through complex, longer courses, to university-level educational resources.
Mathematical foundations
Quantum computing requires more than just a basic mathematical background. You need to be familiar with vectors, matrices, operations on them, linear algebra, vector spaces and transformations on them, complex numbers, and some even more advanced concepts. Essential Mathematics for Quantum Computing by Leonard S. Woody III goes through the required math in just around 200 pages. This should be more than enough to recap university studies, but it also contains references to resources with more details for those who are not familiar with certain topics at all.
It is strongly suggested to understand the mathematical foundations first, to get the most out of quantum computing courses.
Technology Companies
Major technology companies are at the forefront of quantum computing development and provide extensive educational resources to foster a developer ecosystem.
IBM offers the IBM Quantum Learning platform, which includes courses, tutorials, and a user-friendly drag-and-drop circuit composer. They also provide access to their real quantum computers through the cloud from your Qiskit (the Python-based quantum computing framework IBM provides) environment.
They link courses specifically designed for people new to quantum computing on Coursera from their website, although this particular course is not free; it costs $49. It’s a good course, but it’s worth noting that it’s a few years old and some of the instructions won’t work anymore in the latest Qiskit and IBM Quantum Platform versions. You will need to get some help from an LLM (Gemini or ChatGPT will be able to help you) to find out how to implement the instructions in the videos in the newest versions. The instructor also goes through the mathematical background of the gates, but it’s more a recap than a detailed explanation, so understanding the mathematical foundations mentioned above will help you a lot to get the maximum out of this course.
Microsoft’s Azure Quantum platform provides learning resources, including the “Quantum Katas” (self-paced tutorials and programming exercises) and a comprehensive learning path on Microsoft Learn. They require a significant amount of math background, university studies have to be revisited to understand the katas.
Google’s Quantum AI division offers educational materials and a Coursera course on quantum error correction. They offer free, open source tools to program quantum computers. However, their website is useful mostly to people who already know some quantum computing, they don’t have courses designed to help people new to quantum computing.
D-Wave, a leader in annealing quantum computing, provides training and developer tools through their “Leap” quantum cloud service, including tutorials and a program to help businesses explore quantum applications. The reader needs a solid mathematical background to understand their courses.
IonQ offers training to understand the basics of quantum computing, and they have courses that teach more complicated concepts, and programming quantum computers. They not only explain how their technology works, but also offer an overview of what other quantum computing companies offer.
Quantinuum has a technical blog with a high number of publications, and they also offer different developer tools to program quantum computers, however, they don’t have a course specifically designed to train people who are new to quantum computing.
Educational Institutions and Research Organizations
Many universities and research centers are key players in quantum computing education, often providing both formal degree programs and public-facing resources.
TU Delft (QuTech Academy): TU Delft’s online learning platform offers a variety of courses on quantum technology, from fundamentals to more specific topics like quantum cryptography and machine learning. They offer online courses, which typically cost a few hundred dollars.
Stanford University & other universities: Many other universities, such as Stanford and the University of Toronto, have developed courses available on platforms like Coursera.
QTEdu (European Quantum Flagship): This project aims to build a comprehensive quantum education ecosystem in Europe, offering various programs, courses, and training opportunities for lifelong learning and professional development. They have a huge collection of courses offered by many different companies and institutions.
Non-Profit Associations and Communities
These groups focus on building a community and making quantum computing knowledge more accessible to a wider audience.
QWorld: This non-profit organization works to popularize quantum technologies and train the next generation of quantum scientists through educational events and workshop series like “QBronze” and “QSilver.” They are organizing events and from time to time offering quantum computing courses, too.
Open Quantum Institute: This organization curates and supports educational activities, including hackathons, to advance understanding and participation in quantum computing applications. They collected a list of educational programs they support.
Other Companies and Platforms
qBraid: A cloud-based platform that gives users access to quantum hardware from various providers and partners with universities to offer research mentorships and educational programs. They even offer a tool to build your own quantum computing training.
Q-CTRL (Black Opal) offers an interactive online learning platform designed to make quantum computing accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. They have a limited free version of their platform, the full experience costs $199.
Future day in Switzerland (Zukunftstag) is a day where companies invite pre-high school kids across the country and show them how they work, teach them interesting skills. Denes was invited by EPAM Systems Switzerland to give an intro talk about quantum computing.
In this episode of The Quantum Kid, Katia Moskvitch and nine-year-old co-host Kai explore one of the most fascinating frontiers in modern physics: time travel, and what quantum mechanics and relativity really say about it. Our guest is Scott Aaronson — one of the world’s leading experts in quantum computing, the Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, and director of UT’s Quantum Information Center.
In this Christmas episode, Kai – The Quantum Kid – explores what happens when quantum computing meets robotics. With John Preskill, Caltech theoretical physicist, who coined the term ‘quantum supremacy’, and Ken Goldberg, US Berkley robotics expert.
We discuss how quantum computers could help robots make smarter decisions and solve problems faster, and what this could mean for the future of intelligent machines. We also talk about uncertainty – both in the context of quantum and in the context of robotics. Oh, and Kai also teleports to a super cool robotics lab in Zurich, ANYbotics, and meets ANYmal – a robot dog that can walk and climb stairs, and can be go where it’s dangerous for humans to go. And, as Kai puts it, ‘it’s veeeeeryyyy cute!’ Quantum computers don’t just calculate faster. They think differently. Could that give robots new abilities?
In this webinar, we explore mid-circuit measurements in quantum computing and why they are essential for quantum error correction and fault-tolerant architectures. Using Qiskit, we walk through how quantum circuits are initialized, how single- and two-qubit gates affect quantum states, and how measurements introduce probabilistic outcomes. We then demonstrate how measurements can be performed during a circuit, and how ancilla qubits enable information to be extracted without directly destroying the data qubit. This talk is aimed at developers, students, and researchers who want a practical understanding of how mid-circuit measurements work in real quantum programs.
