Quantum computing is very much a story of the future, as companies are still building out the technology needed to turn possibilities into realities. Those possibilities, however, remain very promising, as quantum computers could solve problems in minutes that conventional computers would take 1,000 years or longer.
So how do you set yourself up to be at the right place at the right time while also avoiding excessive risk? Amazon (AMZN 0.39%) is a pick-and-shovel investment in quantum computing that is worth considering.
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Amazon's infrastructure role in quantum computing
To build an industry of the future, quantum companies have to invest significant time and money in research and development for breakthroughs that may never materialize. With Amazon, you're already investing in a profitable company that isn't assuming that same risk. It can profit from the industry by establishing the infrastructure that quantum companies will need to make breakthroughs. In 2019, it introduced Amazon Braket, which allows researchers, scientists, and developers to build and test quantum computing algorithms.
In addition, Amazon is developing a quantum chip called Ocelot. "In the future, quantum chips built according to the Ocelot architecture could cost as little as one-fifth of current approaches, due to the drastically reduced number of resources required for error correction. Concretely, we believe this will accelerate our timeline to a practical quantum computer by up to five years," Oskar Painter, the Amazon Web Services director of quantum hardware, said in a February 2025 company update.
Essentially, Amazon is setting itself up to win as the pick-and-shovel provider of the quantum computing gold rush.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Limit risk while still capturing upside
Because of a current lack of widespread commercial use cases, the quantum computing industry remains small.
In 2025, quantum computing companies generated over $1 billion in global revenue, with forecasts of $4.4 billion in revenue by 2028, according to McKinsey & Co. As the technology advances, however, businesses could be lining up to tap into the capabilities of quantum computing. McKinsey & Co. also forecasts that quantum computing could generate $2.7 trillion of global economic value by 2035.
It's true that more pure-play options could offer bigger gains. There's nothing wrong with considering a few speculative investments in smaller companies. But I'd still rather own a less risky company, like Amazon, that's already profitable and can still capture the upside from quantum computing as the industry grows.
