Countries, technology companies, venture capital firms, and huge multinational global corporations across multiple industries are all taking part in one of the largest and most expensive technological races in history. The race toward the “holy grail” – the quantum computer. This goal is no scientific gimmick, but rather, an infrastructure capable of reshaping geopolitical, technological, economic, and security power balances
The United States, China, the European Union, and other countries are investing billions of dollars in the development of quantum technologies with a clear objective: to become the first to transform quantum physics from a fragile experimental system into an efficient and superior machine capable of solving problems that conventional computers simply cannot handle.
Every player in this race understands the stakes. Whoever succeeds could dramatically influence fields such as drug development, encryption, logistics, financial systems, communications, defense, and advanced industry. Yet many critical questions remain unanswered. Which of the competing technologies pursuing quantum advantage will ultimately prevail? Which approach will deliver the speed, accuracy, and scalability required for practical deployment? And who will be the dominant players a decade from now? In this global competition, Israel is exceptionally well positioned.
Israel is already considered one of the world’s leading countries in advanced academic research across a wide range of active quantum technologies and development fields, from quantum processors and sensors to control systems, quantum software, and quantum components. The involvement of leading researchers, together with deep-tech companies seeking to solve some of the field’s most fundamental challenges, has created an Israeli ecosystem that is exceptional for a country of its size. Israel has a diverse range of companies spanning all leading quantum technologies and layers of development, including processors, controllers, operating systems, algorithms, and error correction, that is unmatched outside the United States and China.
A country that fails to develop independent quantum capabilities may eventually become dependent on other nations for critical technological infrastructure. The Israel Innovation Authority plays a central role in developing these capabilities and is working to build a long-term national infrastructure in this field, one defined by high risk, long development cycles, and enormous investment requirements. Beyond supporting individual companies, the Authority works to create a comprehensive ecosystem that includes national infrastructure, access to research facilities, collaboration between academia and industry, international partnerships, and investments across a diverse range of quantum technologies.
Israel is advancing along multiple technological paths simultaneously, based on the strategic understanding that, in the quantum race, there is still no single “winning horse”. The goal is to ensure that, when the race is ultimately decided, at least one Israeli technology is among the first to cross the finish line.
This magazine explores quantum technology as it exists today, at a stage where quantum computing remains some distance from full maturity but has already moved beyond theoretical science. Through conversations with researchers, entrepreneurs, and industrialists currently operating in Israel, it presents a field still under construction, yet already influencing how the world thinks about the future of innovation, computing power, and technological sovereignty. It also highlights the critical role played by the Innovation Authority’s critical role in developing these capabilities as part of the crucial race to the quantum.