Quantum computing: Why Temasek is investing in this emerging technology

Despite its potential to revolutionise industries, the path to commercially viable quantum computing – outside the lab – remains elusive.

Quantum computers can solve problems that the most powerful classical computers cannot, said Russell Tham, head of Emerging Technologies at Temasek, but to date, these have been largely confined to experimental and scientific use cases.

How long will it take?

“At least three to five years, perhaps longer,” Tham said, adding that when the time comes, it’ll mark an inflection point for the field.

Classical computers store information in “bits” that must be either a 0 or 1. Quantum computers use quantum bits (or qubits) that can represent a complex combination of 0s and 1s simultaneously. As the number of qubits grows, a quantum computer becomes exponentially more powerful.

But there’s a catch: Qubits are “inherently fragile as they exist in sensitive quantum states”, Tham said. Even small amounts of noise or interference can cause significant errors.

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This makes scalability a challenge.

“Although quantum computers have exponential power as they scale up in terms of the number of qubits, errors compound exponentially too,” Tham said. This limits current quantum systems to a small scale.

The race is on

While quantum computing’s commercial viability is at least a few years out, countries worldwide – including Singapore – are positioning themselves to be at the forefront of this technology, Tham noted.

The Singapore Government is investing S$700 million in quantum research to develop local expertise and infrastructure, aiming to build the nation’s capabilities in this high-stakes field.

State investor Temasek is watching the quantum computing space closely.

Tham explained that once quantum computing becomes commercially viable, it could take off exponentially in sectors like chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals, and finance. “We foresee the unlocking of massive economic value thereafter.”

Boston Consulting Group estimates that the quantum sector will create between US$450 billion (S$592 billion) and US$850 billion in economic value globally by 2040.

In 2021, Temasek invested in US-based start-up PsiQuantum, which aims to build the world’s first utility-scale commercial quantum computer by 2027.

Two years later, it invested in French start-up Pasqal, which is developing quantum computers that use neutral atoms as their qubit architecture.

A matter of time

Why these two companies? Tham explained that Temasek is focused on investing in firms with the greatest potential to develop quantum computers that can scale beyond the number of qubits required to address commercial use cases.

“As a generational investor, Temasek seeks to deliver sustainable returns over the long term,” he said, adding that the financial impact of quantum computing is low currently, as the focus is now on developing use cases for future use, and not for practical advantage.

But that could change soon. With its investments in the emerging technology, Temasek is “future-proofing its participation in major market inflections (ahead)”, Tham said.

This was produced in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Global Finance & Technology Network, and Constellar.

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