Quantum computing holds immense promise, but today’s hardware is not yet powerful enough to solve urgent global challenges. While progress is being made, relatively few efforts are focused on translating quantum algorithms into real-world applications and assessing their feasibility for when sufficiently powerful hardware is available.

Winning submissions will propose and analyze quantum algorithms and applications with the potential to tackle complex, real-world challenges in areas such as health, climate, and sustainability to unlock the power of quantum computing, once larger-scale hardware becomes available, for the benefit of all.

The $5M, 3-year XPRIZE Quantum Applications competition challenges innovators to propose and analyze quantum algorithms and applications that harness the capabilities of quantum computing to solve pressing real-world issues.

Quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field at the intersection of computer science, physics, and mathematics that harnesses the information processing power of quantum mechanics to solve computational problems that classical computers cannot.

Although today’s quantum computing hardware cannot yet outperform classical systems for most applications, progress is accelerating. Competing teams will develop quantum computing algorithms and applications that tackle some of the world’s most challenging problems, including drug discovery, climate models, fusion reactors, and advanced materials, so that breakthrough solutions are ready to deliver global impact when sufficiently powerful systems become available.

Winning contributions may take three forms. 

Novel Algorithm: a new quantum algorithm for solving a new class of problems with quantum advantage. 

New Application: Work showing how existing quantum algorithms can be used to solve previously unknown applications with a quantum advantage. 

Enhanced Performance: Work significantly reducing the resources required for a quantum computer to reach quantum advantage for an already established algorithm or application.

A diverse community of quantum experts, policymakers, and business leaders, will collaborate to propose, analyze, and benchmark algorithms and applications to bridge the gap between theory and implementation toward a future where quantum innovation drives real-world, global solutions.

Launched in 2024, the competition will move through two phases over the next three years. Finalists will develop submissions that showcase how their quantum algorithms could be applied in real-world contexts, with winners announced in the Spring of 2027.

The XPRIZE Quantum Applications competition is broken down into two phases. In Phase I, teams propose quantum application concepts, analyze their novelty, and assess potential for real-world impact. In Phase II, finalists quantify that impact, benchmark against the best classical methods, and estimate the quantum resources required to achieve meaningful quantum advantage.