TechnologyHundreds of quantum computing firms around the world are racing to commercialise these once-exotic devices, but the jury is still out on who is going to pull ahead and produce a machine that actually does something useful 11 February 2025 The race is on to build a useful quantum computerThere has never been a better time to be in the quantum computing business. Some 10 years ago, it was not obvious that quantum computing was more than an interesting lab experiment. Since then, an entire globalised ecosystem has emerged, says Laurent Prost at French quantum computing start-up Alice & Bob, one of hundreds of firms in the sector. Krysta Svore at Microsoft puts it even more succinctly: Quantum computers are working.But working on what? Practical uses for quantum computers remain limited, with no sign yet of the long-promised ability