Rising valuations in quantum computing businesses could spell good news for firms working across their supply chain, including specialty gas suppliers and quantum cooling specialists.

Quantinuum, a UK–US firm whose investors include international tech giant Honeywell has just raised $600m as investor interest builds in the cutting-edge technology, which has the potential to power breakthroughs in a wide range of areas, from drug discovery to artificial intelligence.

In a smaller but equally encouraging funding announcement, Phasecraft, a deeptech business founded by a group of Bristol and London-based academics, has raised $34m (£25m) to bring quantum computing closer to solving real-world challenges.

The UK’s decision at the end of June to inject more than £500m ($687m) into quantum computing over the next four years could also open new opportunities for the industrial gas sector, particularly in cryogenics and high-purity gas supply.

As the government aims to build sovereign capability in quantum hardware, suppliers of liquid helium, nitrogen, and other specialist gases may find growing demand from labs, start-ups and quantum infrastructure projects.

Acquiring pole position in the quantum computing market is becoming a competitive global race.

The US plans to invest $1.2bn in quantum computing research over the next five years, while countries across Asia are equally active, driven by strong government support and technological innovation. The European Commission has invested €11bn in the sector since 2020.

The engineering arm of industrial gas major Linde will design and deliver one of the world’s largest cryogenic cooling plants to support a utility-scale quantum computer in Brisbane, Australia, operated by computing company PsiQuantum.

Leading players in cryocooling for quantum today include the Finnish business Bluefors and its sister company Cryomech, but it is a crowded and growing field.

Read more on cryocoolers and quantum here.