Quantum computing used to be one of those things you only read about in a science fiction novel, along with faster-than-light travel or teleportation. It might be part of everyday talk on the Starship Enterprise, but it's not real, right?
Turns out it's very real, and it's one of the fastest-growing industries out there. McKinsey estimates the quantum computing market could grow from about $4 billion today to $72 billion by 2035.
Image source: Getty Images.
The technology is about as sci-fi as it sounds, and quantum computers are capable of solving in minutes some complex math problems that would take the most advanced supercomputers more time than the universe has existed.
There are plenty of young start-up companies working on this technology you could invest in, and if one of them takes off, that's great. But start-ups are often high-risk, high-reward. However, with quantum computing, there are plenty of big names developing their own quantum machines and software. You can reap the returns of quantum computing with the security of investing in a blue-chip stock.
The three companies featured below all offer ways for investors to capture a slice of the $72 billion quantum computing industry.
Bridging the gap
Up first is Nvidia (NVDA 1.53%). The graphics processing unit (GPU) company was perhaps the biggest stock market story of 2025. Its world-class hardware propelled Nvidia to its current $4.57 trillion market cap.
NASDAQ: NVDA
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But Nvidia isn't resting on its laurels; the company is a leader in quantum computing as well.
While quantum computers do some things very well, better than any classical computer ever could, they actually aren't particularly good at doing normal computer things like surfing the internet.
The solution is hybridizing quantum computers with conventional computers. And Nvidia's NVQLink architecture does just that. The hardware, paired with Nvidia's CUDA-Q software, allows a quantum machine's hardware and operating system to play nice with a classical computer.
Essentially, Nvidia is bridging the gap between classical and quantum computing. And you can invest in Nvidia without being worried about the issues that face start-up companies. Nvidia is likely not going anywhere anytime soon. It's sitting on a net income margin of 53%, and its revenue has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 87% over the past three years.
The original tech giant
Before the Magnificent 7, before the dot-com boom and bust, and before the Macintosh II, there was International Business Machines (IBM 0.48%). Founded back in 1911, it's truly America's original tech giant, and it's still going strong over a century later.
NYSE: IBM
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IBM has been working on quantum computing since the 1970s. Since 2016, it has never missed a single goal on its published roadmap for developing quantum machines. And the company's Nighthawk quantum processor is the cutting-edge result of IBM's research.
Today, Nighthawk has 120 qubits. But the chip is scalable, and systems using it are expected to become bigger and faster through 2028, when IBM expects systems using Nighthawk will be able to support up to 15,000 two-qubit gates with 1,000-plus connected qubits and long-range couplers.
Given IBM's history of keeping right on schedule in its quantum development, it seems like a safe bet to me that they'll keep to that schedule moving forward. And while IBM's revenue growth is slow and steady compared to Nvidia, the company has a net income margin of 12% and a gross margin of 57.8%, and it pays a dividend that yields 2.17% at current prices with a 26-year history of increasing that dividend. IBM isn't going anywhere.
The bleeding edge
Finally, I want to talk about Alphabet (GOOGL 1.66%) (GOOG 1.69%), Google's parent company.
NASDAQ: GOOG
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Alphabet is already emerging as a leader among the Magnificent 7 in the AI space, but the company is sitting on $98 billion in cash, so it has plenty of resources to invest in multiple projects. Quantum computing is one such project.
Remember that quantum computer I mentioned at the start of this article, the one that solved that math problem in minutes? That was Alphabet's Willow quantum computer, and it solved a complicated math problem in five minutes that would have taken even the most advanced classical supercomputer 10 septillion years to solve.
What's more, Willow's error rate (a serious problem with quantum computing more broadly) was cut in half. That's an exponential reduction in a quantum computer's error rate and the first time a quantum machine was "below threshold."
Finally, while most quantum computers have a higher error rate the more qubits they use, Willow actually becomes more accurate with more qubits.
Alphabet is pioneering the frontier of quantum hardware, and it has more resources to throw at any problems than just about anyone else in the industry. And again, Alphabet is pretty far from a start-up, so it's a quantum stock you can invest in confidently.
