Quantum computing is moving fast. Investment in quantum computing soared in Q1 of 2025 with over 1.25 billion raised, more than double compared to the previous year (Quantum Insider). By 2040 McKinsey projects that the value of quantum computing could reach $1 trillion, across industries like pharmaceuticals, finance, aerospace, materials science, and more. This momentum is being driven by a powerful convergence where hardware and software are advancing rapidly in tandem.
Companies are already starting to build quantum readiness into their innovation roadmaps. Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob, and Charles Praud, Quantum Lead at Sopra Steria – one building the tech, and one guiding enterprises – come together to discuss the current state of quantum and how they’re working to make this shift happen.
Q: First, could you give a quick definition of quantum computing and tell us about your roles within the ecosystem?
Théau: Quantum computing is a whole new paradigm of computing, made possible by a new kind of hardware: the quantum computer. It harnesses the richer mathematics of quantum mechanics to enable speed-ups for specific problems that are intractable for the most powerful classical supercomputers.
Building a quantum computer is fundamentally paradoxical: the machine must be perfectly isolated to behave quantum mechanically, yet we need to input data, run algorithms, and extract results at the end. This makes quantum computing an incredibly challenging engineering field.
At Alice & Bob, we’re designing and building the next generation of superconducting quantum computers using cat qubits, a new quantum bit that is dramatically more hardware efficient. As innovators in the space, our mission is clear: to bring the timeline to useful quantum computing closer.
Charles: Sopra Steria is not a computer maker, such as Alice & Bob, but we are an IT services company, the ambition of which is to support the business development of our clients for which the tech, including quantum computing, is obviously, compulsorily, a very very strong lever.
We consider quantum computing as a brand new capability to outperform standard algorithms and AI in solving very complex problems.
To sum up, quantum computing is a very impactful lever to address critical business challenges.
Regarding the Sopra Steria positioning, it is twofold:
- As a consulting firm, we help our customers to explore the potential of quantum computing in their core business;
- As a systems integrator, we demonstrate that prioritized use cases are solvable thanks to quantum algorithmics.
Q: Why do you think quantum is an important technology for the world and our future?
Théau: Humanity is facing huge challenges, from feeding a growing population to climate change, and solving them will require having access to every tool we can get. Quantum computing promises to be among the most powerful, equipping scientists and engineers with new capabilities to tackle these complex challenges.
Think about how classical computing transformed engineering. We went from building planes through trial and error to designing them digitally, and validating the prototypes at the end with no surprises. Quantum computing will bring that way of working to fields like chemistry and drug design, enabling us to simulate and design with molecules.
But quantum’s impact will extend beyond that —logistics, finance, and many other industries will benefit. And we’re only scratching the surface. No one in the 60s or 70s could have envisioned how we use classical computers today. The same will be true for quantum.
Charles: We envision quantum computing for 3 main purposes:
- Simulation: the capability to evaluate millions or billions of options when it comes to simulating the behavior of complex or real-world systems.
- Optimization: the capability to improve the usage of resources when it comes to optimizing the operations of our clients.
- Breaking security encryption: the quantum computer is expected to enable cracking security encryption in a lifespan of 5 to 10 years. We support our clients to anticipate that brand new threat.
Q: Can you tell us more about your approach and the underlying rationale?
Théau: All you need is error correction. Early prototypes showed the extraordinary potential of quantum computers, but errors held them back. That’s why from day one at Alice & Bob we’ve been focused on building fault-tolerant quantum computers that resist errors.
In standard quantum computing architectures, 99.97% of qubits serve only to correct errors, not to compute. At Alice & Bob, we took a different approach. We’re pioneering the first qubit with error protection built directly into the hardware, the cat qubit. Cat qubits have an autonomous first layer of protection against bit flip errors.
By embedding error protection into the chip itself, we slash hardware requirements by orders of magnitude. That means we could drastically reduce the size of the machine needed for large-scale applications, and that’s how we plan to make practical quantum computing happen sooner.
Charles: As a Tech leader, we have the responsibility to enlighten the strategic IT investments made by our clients.
Thus, our quantum computing approach is threefold:
- Prioritization, to focus exclusively on challenges that matter and are critical for their core business.
- Tech-agnostic, to embrace all the options that are today explored by the quantum industry.
- Transparency, in what we can do, what we can’t; in a nutshell : not oversell it.
Q: How do quantum players differ from other technological fields?
Théau: We’re designing machines in a field where intuition is hard to build, because quantum mechanics is inherently counterintuitive. It’s like building with Lego made from strange matter. The rules for how to assemble these bricks don’t match what we experience in the classical world, so it requires a completely new way of thinking. Researchers in our field need deep scientific rigor while being bold enough not to be constrained by it.
This is rare territory where we’re pushing the boundaries of scientific understanding, of coherence and quantum mechanics, while building practical technology. It’s only happened a few times in history: the race for atomic energy, the space program – moments when pure research and engineering innovation had to advance in lockstep.
At Alice & Bob, we publish our discoveries regularly to stay in touch with the research community. This enables us to give back and keep that innovation flywheel turning.
Charles: In IT, it’s the first time we don’t serialize fundamental research, engineering, and the use cases exploration.
As an IT services company, we experiment with a brand new cutting edge technology which is not yet mature enough to be operational.
This is a rare privilege to be shoulder to shoulder with all these fascinating pioneers such as the Alice & Bob team.
Q: Why is developing a European Quantum industry so important?
Théau: Computing is a fundamental resource of the digital age, just like energy was in the industrial era. To remain competitive today, Europe will need abundant access to computing power. Europe has maintained its world-class research environment, so the talent and the expertise are here. What’s needed is bold entrepreneurship to scale European technologies into global tech champions.
Charles: Today, Europe is definitely leading the quantum race thanks to brilliant startups, both in hardware and software.
As far, that tech should be the next big thing, the next game changer, Europe has no other choice than betting on it to ensure its future competitiveness and sovereignty.
Q: Is there anything—recent success, upcoming news, personal thoughts—you’d like to share?
Théau: We recently completed our €100 million Series B fundraising, following key achievements like our record bit-flip lifetime on our Boson 4 chip, available on Google Cloud.
With this funding, we’re building a state-of-the-art 4,000m² product development facility in the Paris region. Here we’ll produce our most advanced series of cat qubit chips yet, and ultimately develop and build our first useful fault-tolerant quantum computer, planned for 2030. Read more in our roadmap: https://alice-bob.com/roadmap/.
We’re glad to collaborate with IT companies like Sopra Steria, who share our vision for turning quantum computing into impactful, real-world applications.
Charles: I would first highlight that Sopra Steria is really convinced of quantum computing interest : the proof is that Sopra Steria Ventures invested in the Quantonation fund two years ago and in Alice & Bob in January 2025.
Last but not least, we are very very proud to have already delivered 5 different projects exploring the quantum computing potential in transportation, space, and telecommunications.
