IBM: Billions Invested in the Race to 2033
The US research agency DARPA is setting the timeframe: On October 7, it advanced IBM, IonQ, Atom Computing and Diraq to the final phase of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The programme aims to determine whether researchers can develop an economically viable quantum computer by 2033. IBM is setting the pace for quantum hardware development worldwide. The group is driving modular systems forward and plans to put the first fault-tolerant quantum computer into operation with Quantum Starling in 2029. To this end, IBM intends to invest more than USD 10 billion in quantum computing over the next five years. However, this hardware development consumes enormous sums. The company has to master highly complex cryogenic cooling cells. Since 2017, IBM has signed quantum contracts worth more than USD 1.1 billion through cloud access and system sales.
D-Wave: Quantum advantage in chip manufacturing
D-Wave is pursuing an entirely different approach. The company focuses on specialised quantum annealing and demonstrates that industrial optimisation processes can be monetised even before full fault tolerance is achieved. Just a few days ago, D-Wave extended its multi-year manufacturing partnership with US semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater, which has been owned by competitor IonQ since July. SkyWater manufactures the superconducting processors for D-Wave. In a separate pilot project, D-Wave optimised maintenance scheduling at SkyWater’s plant and reduced delays to production batches there by up to 30 %. Through contract manufacturing, D-Wave avoids building its own semiconductor plants costing billions, but its technology specialises in optimisation problems.
Aqarios Quantum Technologies: Using Luna for Hardware-Independent Factory Planning
Munich-based Aqarios Quantum Technologies is positioning itself on the software side. The software developer aims to make quantum computing simple for customers. At the end of September, Schaeffler commissioned Aqarios Quantum Technologies to deliver a proof of concept. It is intended to show under what conditions quantum methods deliver better results for industrial planning tasks than today’s algorithms. The Luna platform accesses computers from IBM, IonQ and D-Wave in a hardware-agnostic manner. This is intended to spare industrial customers costly lock-in: Luna translates datasets into formats such as QUBO, BQM or CQM and brings together over 35 algorithms.
As early as mid-September, Aqarios Quantum Technologies also added the Constrained Quantum Optimiser to IBM’s Qiskit Functions Catalogue. According to IBM, Qiskit is by far the leading development tool for quantum computing, with more than 600,000 registered users. Through the catalogue, IBM and selected partners provide applications that run directly on IBM quantum computers. Aqarios is thus addressing a fundamental problem in industrial practice: incorporating fixed constraints such as statutory shift hours or machine limits. Instead of mathematical auxiliary constructs, the software processes such constraints natively. Reformulation, circuit synthesis and transpilation run automatically in the background on IBM systems.
Aqarios’ stock performance over the past six months.
Aqarios Quantum Technologies: IPO and Expansion of Its Partner Network
In July 2026, Aqarios Quantum Technologies completed its stock market listing through a transaction with Fonterelli SPAC 4. This increased the share capital to EUR 2.5 million, divided into 2.5 million no-par-value shares. Back in July, the company announced a mandatory convertible bond with a conversion price of EUR 6.00 per share; a US investor has committed more than USD 200,000 under a preliminary agreement. Operationally, Aqarios Quantum Technologies generated revenue of between EUR 1.16 million and EUR 1.37 million from industrial projects and research funding in the 2023 to 2025 financial years. The net result in those years ranged from a profit of EUR 193,000 to a loss of EUR 459,000. The partner network extends beyond Schaeffler. Aqarios has worked with BASF for more than two years on quantum logistics models, for example, for planning, forecasting and task allocation. The team developed algorithms for energy transition use cases for E.ON, and Aqarios is bringing a portfolio optimisation product to market with fintech company Divizend. The company carried out further projects with BMW, MTU Aero Engines, SAP and Siemens, among others.
Aqarios Quantum Technologies: Software Revenue Even Before Hardware Maturity
Aqarios Quantum Technologies has not yet attracted analysts’ attention. Its valuation must therefore be measured primarily against operational milestones, and here the company recently reported progress with the IBM catalogue and the Schaeffler contract. According to McKinsey, quantum computing could generate up to USD 2.7 trillion in economic benefits for companies worldwide by 2035. The market for the technology itself is expected to reach USD 60 to 100 billion by then. Aqarios Quantum Technologies benefits directly from industrial demand for immediately deployable optimisation tools.
Aqarios sees itself as a (quantum) optimisation company: the Luna platform combines classical, AI-assisted and quantum algorithms. Industrial customers can already implement optimisation projects with it today, often on classical hardware such as GPUs, according to the company. With every advance in quantum computers, Aqarios can also integrate them; its business success therefore does not depend solely on the quantum breakthrough. Risks remain, however: for example, industrial project budgets can be cut during economic downturns. However, the company has the advantage of already generating revenue today with its versatile software solutions. As the only pure-play German “quantum play”, Aqarios shares are an extremely exciting stock.
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