Self-Assessment Quiz: The Quantum Computing Industry

Twenty questions on the players, business models, funding, talent, and how to read industry claims. Aim for 16+.

Question 1

The dominant commercial access model for quantum computing is:

A) Cloud access to remote devices B) On-premises purchase C) Consumer hardware D) Open-source downloads

Question 2

IBM's quantum hardware is based on:

A) Superconducting transmons B) Trapped ions C) Photonics D) Neutral atoms

Question 3

Quantinuum's technology is:

A) Trapped ions with a QCCD architecture B) Superconducting C) Photonic D) Topological

Question 4

Google's Willow processor demonstrated:

A) Below-threshold surface-code error correction B) Factoring RSA-2048 C) Commercial advantage D) Room-temperature operation

Question 5

PsiQuantum's approach is:

A) Photonic, betting on silicon-photonics manufacturing at scale B) Superconducting C) Trapped ion D) Annealing

Question 6

D-Wave's systems are:

A) Quantum annealers, not gate-model universal computers B) Gate-model universal C) Photonic D) Error-corrected

Question 7

Microsoft's long-standing hardware bet has been on:

A) Topological qubits B) Superconducting C) Trapped ions only D) Photonics

Question 8

Amazon Braket is primarily:

A) A cloud aggregator providing access to multiple vendors' hardware B) A hardware manufacturer only C) A simulator only D) A consulting firm

Question 9

The largest source of quantum computing funding to date has been:

A) A mix of government programs and private venture capital B) Consumer sales C) Advertising D) Hardware sales revenue

Question 10

Current industry revenue comes predominantly from:

A) Cloud access, government contracts, and consulting — not from solving commercial problems B) Selling computers C) Application software D) Patent licensing

Question 11

The quantum talent shortage is most acute in:

A) People who combine physics, engineering, and software skills B) Theoretical physicists C) Salespeople D) Managers

Question 12

A common pattern in quantum startup claims is:

A) Comparing against weak classical baselines B) Underselling capability C) Refusing to publish D) Avoiding benchmarks

Question 13

"Quantum advantage" in vendor marketing usually means:

A) Something narrower than commercially useful speedup — often a contrived sampling task B) Proven commercial value C) Breaking encryption D) Nothing at all

Question 14

National quantum initiatives exist in:

A) The US, EU, China, UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, and others B) Only the US C) No countries D) Only China

Question 15

Export controls on quantum technology:

A) Have been introduced by several countries, covering hardware and some software B) Do not exist C) Apply only to software D) Were repealed

Question 16

True or false: Quantum computing companies are currently profitable from selling computation.

Question 17

True or false: Public quantum companies' valuations track demonstrated technical capability.

Question 18

True or false: Hiring in the industry is dominated by physicists.

Question 19

Short answer. Why do most quantum companies sell cloud access rather than machines?

Question 20

Short answer. How would you evaluate a quantum startup's technical claims as a non-specialist investor?

Answer Key

Q Ans Note
1 A Cloud dominates for cost and operational reasons (Ch. 29's TCO case study).
2 A Transmons, heavy-hex layout.
3 A Trapped ions with shuttling between zones.
4 A $d=5$ outperformed $d=3$ (Ch. 25).
5 A The highest-variance bet, contingent on component loss (Ch. 28).
6 A Annealing solves optimization heuristically without gate-model universality.
7 A Topological qubits, still unproven.
8 A Aggregating IonQ, Rigetti, QuEra and others.
9 A Government programs plus VC; product revenue is small.
10 A The industry sells access and expertise, not solved problems.
11 A The scarce profile is cross-disciplinary, not any single discipline.
12 A The recurring methodological flaw in this book's case studies.
13 A Usually a sampling milestone rather than a useful computation.
14 A Quantum has become an explicit element of national technology strategy.
15 A Including cryogenics, control electronics, and some algorithms.
16 False No company earns meaningful revenue from customers solving real problems faster than classically. Revenue is access fees, government contracts, and consulting.
17 False Valuations respond to announcements, partnerships, and sentiment at least as much as to technical milestones; several public quantum stocks have moved by multiples on news with no capability change.
18 False Most hires are engineers — control electronics, cryogenics, software, compilers, and classical systems. The Chapter 29 cost analysis explains why: the quantum processor is a small fraction of the system.
19 — Machines cost ~$2M in capital plus ~$900k/yr to operate, need 3.5 FTE of specialist staff, and are available only 60–70% of the time. Almost no customer wants that. Cloud lets vendors amortize one machine across many customers, keep hardware in the hands of the people who can calibrate it, upgrade continuously without customer disruption, and retain the operational data that drives improvement. It also conveniently avoids customers discovering how often a machine is down.
20 — Ask: (1) What is the specific task, and what is the best classical algorithm's performance on the same instances at equal wall-clock? (2) Are results peer-reviewed and independently reproduced? (3) Are qubits error-corrected, and what are the two-qubit gate fidelity, coherence time, and circuit depth? (4) What is the scaling constraint of their architecture, and what is the plan for it? (5) Does revenue come from customers solving real problems, or from access fees and grants? A vendor unable to answer (1) and (3) precisely is selling a narrative.