Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Drops Quantum Computing Bombshell – Why Investors Should Care in 2025

Quantum just got real—and Wall Street's algorithms haven't even processed it yet.

When Microsoft's CEO speaks, markets listen. But this time, Nadella's talking about qubits, not quarterly earnings—and the implications could rewrite the rulebook on high-performance computing.

The breakthrough? We're not talking about some lab experiment. This is enterprise-grade quantum infrastructure hitting commercialization timelines that even crypto VCs would call 'aggressive.'

Forget 'blockchain will change everything'—quantum's coming for finance's most sacred cows. Settlement times? Slashed. Portfolio optimization? Obsolete. And yes, it'll probably break Bitcoin's encryption too—but that's a problem for 2030's bagholders.

One hedge fund quant put it best: 'We've been frontrunning retail trades for years. Now we get to frontrun classical physics.'

Image source: Getty Images.

What Microsoft is doing with quantum computing

Following in the footsteps of Alphabet, Microsoft announced its new Majorana 1 quantum chip in February, saying it's powered by a new Topological Core architecture, which will help create computers that can solve large-scale problems in years, not decades.

Microsoft's focus on topological qubits separates it from its competitors, though the company says that it's theoretically more stable than any other qubit engineered to date. Its quantum computing strategy will be driven by Azure, which will allow it to scale up its capabilities. Eventually, Microsoft says, its quantum computer will be able to handle bandwidths over 10-100 terabits per second and complete operations in less than a microsecond.

Microsoft's partnership with Atom Computing on quantum computers appears to be progressing rapidly, as in July, the company received an 80 million euro investment from a new Nordic quantum initiative, QuNorth, to build one of the very first Level 2 quantum computers.

What it means for quantum computing stocks

Quantum computing stocks didn't get the same boost from the announcement of Majorana that they did from Willow, but that may be because Alphabet's announcement took the industry by surprise, essentially kicking off a race for what may be the next disruptive technology after AI.

Microsoft is working with many of the top quantum computing stocks, so its success in quantum could be their success.

Some of these quantum computing companies also use Azure Quantum to power their operations and give customers access to their programs. For example, IonQ can reconfigure trapped-ion quantum computers for up to 11 fully connected qubits, and Rigetti's systems also operate on Azure Quantum and are known for fast gate times, low-latency conditional logic, and fast program execution.

However, the whole sector should benefit from improving visibility for quantum computing as tech leaders like Nadella tout its proximity and potential.

Nadella recognized the potential in AI early on and partnered with OpenAI to establish itself as a leader in generative AI. He also recognized the opportunity in cloud computing and has built Azure into a force that can soon toppleWeb Services as the biggest cloud infrastructure platform.

Now, Microsoft is aiming to do the same thing with quantum computing. While quantum seems unlikely to have its "ChatGPT moment" the way AI did, we could see it generating meaningful revenue in the next few years for some of the companies above.

If Microsoft gets more bullish on the technology, that should be a clear signal for the industry as a whole. While not every quantum stock will be a winner, any progress for the technology at this point is a win for the sector.