On the occasion of World Quantum Day (April 14th), the UK government committed a major £121 million investment which will be used to speed up the commercialization and development of quantum technologies. The investment will help to create thousands of highly skilled jobs and spur innovation in public services, financial stability, and national infrastructure.

The new investment is included within the UK's overall £2.5 billion National Quantum Technologies Programme, an ambitious long-term plan to make the nation a world leader in this strategically crucial tech industry. The money will be invested, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says, on backing leading-edge research, creating next-generation quantum infrastructure, and growing the national talent pool.

“Quantum, manipulating the universe at its smallest scale, has the potential to save millions for our economy, create thousands of jobs, and improve businesses across the country,” said Tech Secretary Peter Kyle. “Backing our world-class quantum researchers and businesses is an important part of our change plan.”

Quantum technologies, which use the principles of quantum physics to address challenges outside the capabilities of traditional computers, have a broad range of applications from drug discovery and energy grid optimization to national security. But the UK government is putting special focus on the technology's ability to fight financial crime and enhance fraud detection.

Today, fraud costs the UK economy £2.6 billion a year, and quantum computing may transform how institutions approach compliance and detect anomalies by working through gargantuan data sets with unprecedented accuracy. In addition to combating financial crime, the technology also has the potential to secure communications networks and protect infrastructure from cyberattacks.

The UK's investment follows increasing global competition, with the EU investing €1 billion in its quantum flagship programme, and the US ramping up spending under its CHIPS and Science Act. DSIT also introduced an AI Opportunities Action Plan in March, with experts foreseeing possible overlaps between AI and quantum technologies.