Artificial intelligence (AI) has created some of Wall Street's biggest winners since 2023. Quantum computing could become the next major technology trend, producing winning growth stocks.
Most quantum computing companies are still loss-making and have limited commercial adoption. But history shows that major technology shifts can create big winners, especially among companies that make complex technologies easier to use.
Image source: Getty Images.
One stock that could fit that description is Horizon Quantum Computing (HQ 0.89%), which went public in March 2026. The company entered the public market through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) named dMY Squared Technology Group.
Big winners often simplify technology
Horizon's Triple Alpha software platform is designed to help developers build quantum applications across different hardware systems. The company also uses a proprietary programming language, Beryllium, which aims to make quantum programming easier. If quantum computing eventually becomes commercially viable, software tools like this could become increasingly valuable. History offers several supporting examples.
NASDAQ: HQ
Key Data Points
Microsoft transformed itself from a slower legacy software company to one of Wall Street's biggest winners, driven first by its Azure cloud platform and more recently by AI. Azure helps reduce the cost and complexity of enterprise computing, while Microsoft's AI tools enable businesses to deploy generative AI without building foundational models from scratch.
Nvidia has also built a powerful competitive moat around its AI business through its CUDA software platform. As an early mover, the company made GPU programming easier through ready-made software tools. This, in turn, helped CUDA achieve broad adoption across researchers, enterprises, and cloud providers while strengthening customer lock-in.
Horizon appears to be moving in the right direction
Horizon is already operating Ember One, an in-house superconducting quantum system built using
Rigetti Computing's hardware. The company has also agreed to acquire one of IonQ's Forte Enterprise quantum systems. This acquisition would help Horizon test and improve its software across different types of quantum hardware.
The company has also partnered with Alpine Quantum Technologies and Alice & Bob to broaden Triple Alpha's compatibility across different quantum architectures.
There are multiple competing quantum computing hardware approaches, such as superconducting (electrical circuits cooled to extremely low temperatures), trapped-ion (individual charged atoms controlled with electromagnetic fields), and photonic (light particles used to process quantum information). Hence, being hardware-agnostic, Horizon may be better positioned to optimize across the industry.
It also has the capital to pursue that strategy. The company raised roughly $120 million in gross proceeds through its merger with dMY Squared Technology Group.
Despite the pros, Horizon reported a net loss of $3.6 million in the fiscal 2026 first quarter (ended March 31) as commercial adoption remains limited. Quantum computing may also take far longer than investors expect to reach meaningful adoption.
Hence, Horizon Quantum is far from a proven winner. But if quantum computing scales up over time, this newly public stock could become an intriguing high-risk opportunity.
