The chancellor could unveil a major funding boost worth hundreds of millions to the UK quantum computing sector in the upcoming Autumn Statement.
Jeremy Hunt, who will deliver the autumn budget statement on Wednesday, is expected to include funding for a series of quantum computing projects, first reported by the Telegraph.
Quantum computing has previously been identified by the government, along with AI, as a high-priority technology that will become critical to the UK’s future economy.
The expected plans will include a proposal for a national quantum supercomputer to be constructed within the next 10 years.
UKTN has reached out to the Treasury and the tech department for comment.
The new plans follow Hunt’s previous announcement during the last Spring Statement in March, in which the chancellor unveiled a 10-year quantum strategy backed by £2.5bn of public funding.
The quantum strategy included plans to fund quantum postgraduate research projects, grow the UK’s share of quantum-related private equity investment, support the country’s compute infrastructure to ready it for the next generation of computers as well as training and accelerator programmes for quantum startups and skilled workers.
In 2023, the UK quantum sector received sizeable levels of investment, including a record-breaking funding round for London-based startup Quantum Motion and a £45m funding pledge from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for quantum projects.