Nvidia Ceo Leads Expert Panels On Quantum Computing

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 2, 2026, 6:27 AM

nvidia ceo leads expert panels on quantum computing

Nvidia is working toward a future where quantum and traditional high-performance computing work side-by-side to solve the most difficult problems scientists face today. On Thursday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang led two separate panel discussions with a total of a dozen quantum computing companies at the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference. Huang partly held the gatherings as a mea culpa for his comments in January, when he told an interviewer the industry was 15 to 30 years away from harnessing subatomic particles to process data... His remarks sent some companies' stock into a tailspin. "I didn't know they were public," Huang said of his earlier comments before introducing the first panel. "How could a quantum computer company be public?"

The more than two hours of discussions that followed covered various topics, including the initial beneficiaries of quantum computing, its usefulness today and how it will work with high-performance computers running GPUs and CPUs... "The word quantum computer is misleading because people expect that you can replace a classical computer with a quantum model. It's not like that," said Loïc Henriet, CEO of Pasqal. "They're very specialized machines you can use alongside CPUs and GPUs for specialized tasks." On Thursday, March 20th, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang sat with several industry leaders in the quantum computing space as part of the company’s Quantum Day event at GTC 2025. Huang described his event as a chance to explore the latest advancements in quantum computing.

Since he had claimed that practical quantum computers were at least 15 years away, the discussion would be an opportunity to “explain why he was wrong.” The panel discussion included executives from D-Wave, Ion-Q, Quantinuum, Rigetti, QuEra, and Pasqal — companies that represent different approaches to quantum computing, ranging from superconducting qubits to trapped ions. D-Wave is a Canadian quantum computing company that uses superconducting qubits and specializes in quantum annealing technology. Quantum annealing uses quantum fluctuations to solve optimization problems and is generally easier and much less sensitive to noise than gate-based quantum computing. On the company website, D-Wave describes itself as the “first [quantum company] to demonstrate quantum supremacy on [a] useful, real-world problem.” The company has reportedly leveraged its quantum computing technology in performing magnetic materials... D-Wave’s CEO Alan Bratz had remarked his strong disagreement with Huang’s statement about quantum computing’s practicality, stating that “annealing is commercial today.”

At NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 conference, CEO Jensen Huang took a surprising turn on his earlier skepticism toward quantum computing. Hosting two panels with leaders from 12 top quantum companies, including IonQ and D-Wave Quantum Inc., Huang joked about his January comments that “useful” quantum computing was 15-30 years away—a statement that previously sent... Quantum computers, unlike traditional systems, use qubits that exist in multiple states simultaneously. They’re expected to revolutionize fields like cryptography, logistics, materials science, and drug discovery. During the panels, Huang challenged the CEOs to prove him wrong, quipping, “How could a quantum computer company be public?” Executives from companies such as Pasqal, Quantum Computing Inc., and Rigetti shared real-world use cases and emphasized quantum’s growing synergy with classical computing.

Pasqal’s CEO Loïc Henriet likened quantum systems to accelerators, while IonQ’s Peter Chapman noted that future computing will involve seamless interaction between classical and quantum machines. Despite this optimism, public quantum stocks continued to struggle, reacting to lingering investor skepticism. At market close, D-Wave (QBTS) dropped 18%, Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT) fell 11.7%, IonQ (IONQ) declined 9.3%, and Rigetti (RGTI) slipped 9.2%. Huang acknowledged the industry's rapid progress, stating, “Quantum computing is scaling a lot faster than classical computing did.” He concluded by saying that if his misjudgment brought more attention to quantum innovation, then it... Visit your regional NVIDIA website for local content, pricing, and where to buy partners specific to your country.

Dive into quantum computing. Join panels hosted by Jensen Huang, hear from partners in our developer day sessions, connect with experts, and more. Left Image: Plask, Right Top Image: Cern At GTC 2025 in San Jose, Calif. today (Mar. 20), Nvidia hosted its first ever Quantum Day, an event to explore how quantum technology could impact industries.

It featured a panel discussion led by CEO Jensen Huang, alongside executives from leading quantum computing companies like Atom Computing, D-Wave, Infleqtion, QuEra, IonQ, Pasqal and Quantinuum. Huang took the stage to clarify his statement in January that practical quantum computers were still 15 to 30 years away—which caused the stock prices of several quantum computing companies to plummet. By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. “I said it will take years to achieve was always because of the sheer complexity of the technology. When stocks went down, I didn’t even realize these companies were public,” said Jensen.

“Today, I am here to invite every quantum company CEO to prove me wrong. This panel is a therapy session for me,” he added jokingly. But more importantly, Huang announced that Nvidia is investing in a new Boston-based research facility to accelerate quantum computing innovations. The Nvidia Accelerated Quantum Research Center (NVAQC) will focus on integrating A.I. supercomputing with quantum systems, particularly emphasizing quantum error correction—a critical hurdle in making quantum computing practical. The new center will collaborate with Harvard’s Quantum Initiative and MIT’s Engineering Quantum Systems group and quantum companies including Quantinuum, Quantum Machines and QuEra Computing.

Huang first welcomed Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, with a smile and a handshake. During the panel discussion, Baratz pointed to scientific applications where quantum computing is already playing a vital role. “There are problems in the world today that classical computing, or even A.I. alone, can’t solve,” said Baratz. “Think about accurate weather forecasting or drug discovery. Quantum computing can also help A.I.

models become more power-efficient.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is growing more bullish about quantum computing — and he expects they'll start solving real-world problems in the coming years. "Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point," Jensen declared during his keynote speech at Nvidia's GTC Paris developer conference Wednesday. Quantum computers are machines that use the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers, which store information in bits (ones and zeroes). Quantum computers use quantum bits, or "qubits," which can be zero, one or something in between — the aim being to process much larger volumes of data to facilitate breakthroughs in areas like medicine,... Quantum has been a buzzy space for investors with the rise of several popular stocks, such as Rigetti Computing and IonQ, which on Monday acquired Oxford Ionics for $1.1 billion.

Shares of Rigetti and IonQ were up 4.5% and 3.7% respectively in U.S. premarket trading. At NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 conference, CEO Jensen Huang dramatically shifted the narrative on quantum computing. Once predicting that “useful” quantum computing was 15–30 years away—a view that had sent publicly traded quantum stocks crashing—Huang now suggests that widespread adoption of humanoid robots powered by quantum advances could be just... Quantum Computing: Four Waves of Evolution During his keynote, Huang outlined a roadmap for AI evolution that includes four waves: Perception AI: Emerging about a decade ago, focusing on basic tasks such as speech recognition.

Generative AI: Dominating the past five years with innovations in text and image creation. Agentic AI: The current phase, characterized by autonomous decision-making and complex reasoning. Physical AI: The future frontier, set to drive real-world applications like humanoid robots in manufacturing and beyond. Huang emphasized that quantum computers, which harness qubits operating in probabilistic states unlike classical bits, are poised to revolutionize how complex problems—from cryptography to logistics optimization—are solved. This marks a significant departure from his earlier skepticism, as he laughed off his previous comments and challenged industry leaders on stage. Industry Panel Insights Huang hosted two panels featuring representatives from 12 quantum computing companies, including IonQ and D-Wave Quantum Inc.

The discussions revealed a range of perspectives: Some panelists highlighted quantum applications already making an impact in drug discovery, materials development, and financial forecasting. Others, like Loïc Henriet (CEO of Pasqal) and Peter Chapman (CEO of IonQ), underscored that quantum systems will complement classical computers as powerful accelerators rather than full-fledged standalone systems. Huang acknowledged the rapid scaling of quantum computing, stating, “Quantum computing is scaling a lot faster than classical computing did.” He closed the panels on an upbeat note, remarking that if his previous assumptions... At closing: Two months ago at the CES conference, Nvidia (NVDA) Chief Executive Jensen Huang dismissed quantum computing as something that won't be very useful for 15 to 30 years.

But on Thursday Huang hosted a roundtable discussion on the technology at the Nvidia GTC conference in San Jose, Calif. The event called Quantum Day was a mea culpa of sorts for… 12/31/2025 The stock market fell to end a solid 2025. Palantir and Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan Semi were in focus. Tesla deliveries... 12/31/2025 The stock market fell to end a solid 2025.

Palantir... Get instant access to exclusive stock lists, expert market analysis and powerful tools with 2 months of IBD Digital for only $20! Get market updates, educational videos, webinars, and stock analysis. Nvidia CEO leads expert panels on quantum computing Nvidia is working toward a future where quantum and traditional high-performance computing work side-by-side to solve the most difficult problems scientists face today. On Thursday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang led two separate panel discussions with a total of a dozen quantum computing companies at the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference.

Huang partly held the gatherings as a mea culpa for his comments in January, when he told an interviewer the industry was 15 to 30 years away from harnessing subatomic particles to process data... His remarks sent some companies' stock into a tailspin. "I didn't know they were public," Huang said of his earlier comments before introducing the first panel. "How could a quantum computer company be public?" The more than two hours of discussions that followed covered various topics, including the initial beneficiaries of quantum computing, its usefulness today and how it will work with high-performance computers running GPUs and CPUs...

Nvidia Ceo Leads Expert Panels On Quantum Computing

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