After the AI Wave Sets | We Say "Q"

When compute hits its ceiling, only new physics can carry innovation forward The AI Ceiling — How Far Can “More Compute” Take Us?In 2025, generative AI startups attracted $89.4 billion in VC funding — more than a third of global deals. Generative AI and foundation-model startups continue to attract massive capital. But a critical pattern is emerging: Innovation has become incremental, not exponential.

• Many AI teams reuse the same foundational architectures (transformers, diffusion, etc.), causing “innovation flattening.”

• The cost of training state-of-the-art models has ballooned. Some estimates suggest training next-gen models can require tens of millions of dollars in compute, and weeks or months of time.

• Moore’s Law is slowing; doubling of classical transistor performance is becoming harder.

• When “adding more GPUs / chips” becomes prohibitively expensive, scaling by brute-force is no longer viable.

82% of these startups are built on identical foundation models.Scaling now means renting more GPUs, not discovering new science.And the economics are bending under their own weight: training a frontier model costs upwards of $80 million and consumes more energy than some nations produce in a day.

AI’s frontier is no longer algorithmic. It’s computational.

Quantum computing is no longer just theory. There are measurable breakthroughs and market movements.

Hardware Milestone

Caltech recently demonstrated a 6,100-qubit neutral-atom array, held in optical tweezers, pushing quantum scale by an order of magnitude over previous systems. ScienceAlertThough coherence and gate fidelity remain challenges, this milestone shows scaling is possible. Digital WatchEarly Revenue Signals

• D-Wave disclosed USD 18.1 million in revenue for H1 2025, implying ~USD 36–41 million full year. The Quantum Insider

• Still nascent, but real cash is starting to flow.

• Adoption is led by cloud quantum services (Quantum Computing as a Service, QaaS), enabling users to access quantum systems over the cloud. Markets

  
  

The Compression — Where Physics Pushes Back

For decades, Moore’s Law was the invisible venture partner — silently doubling capacity, halving cost.But physics has begun to whisper a hard truth: you can’t shrink silicon forever.

Transistor gains are slowing. Compute costs have risen 57× since 2020.AI isn’t running out of ideas; it’s running out of electrons.

At this boundary, a new substrate must emerge — one not bound by binary states, but by probability amplitudes.

That substrate is Quantum Computing.

The Inflection — When Capital Seeks a New Frontier

Every industrial revolution began when capital found a new abstraction:Steam turned heat into work.Electricity turned work into industry.Digital turned data into value.AI turned data into predictions.

Now Quantum will turn uncertainty into advantage.

2025 already marks an early tipping point:

• Caltech’s 6,100-qubit processor shattered scaling limits.

• IBM, PsiQuantum, and Quantinuum are projecting commercial quantum advantage by 2026–27.

• The global quantum market is expected to grow from $1.8 billion in 2025 to $10 billion by 2030 (CAGR ~30%).

The signal is clear: the next “platform moment” is not another model release — it’s a material transition.

The Opportunity — GCC’s Quantum Window

If AI was the software wave, Quantum will be the hardware renaissance — and the GCC is uniquely positioned to lead it.

Here’s why:

• Capital: Sovereign funds have the dry powder to absorb long R&D cycles.

• Energy: Quantum infrastructure demands stable, low-cost cooling and power — GCC’s forte.

• Vision: Regional national AI strategies already align with “Deep Tech 2030” mandates.

• Geopolitics: Neutral global corridors make GCC an ideal hub for Quantum Cloud Services (QaaS) and Quantum Infrastructure-as-a-Service (QIaaS).

Quantum Computing will not be a product play — it will be a platform of co-innovation.The Pitchworks Thesis — Building the Quantum Studio

Pitchworks isn’t following the AI trend.We’re anticipating the post-AI economy — one defined by compute intelligence, not algorithmic intelligence.

Our Quantum initiative will operate at three layers:

1. Quantum Services — applied computation in healthcare, climate, and logistics; accessible through cloud APIs.

2. Quantum Co-Innovation Labs — shared R&D between startups, corporates, and sovereign partners.

3. Quantum Capability Network — training engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs in next-gen computing.
   

Our goal is to reduce the “time-to-advantage” for emerging nations — enabling them to leapfrog the classical barrier instead of chasing it.

Because every revolution starts the same way:when infrastructure evolves faster than imagination.Closing Thought

Generative AI taught machines to learn patterns.Quantum Computing will teach industries to generate possibilities.

And when that moment arrives, the question won’t be who built the best model —but who built the infrastructure of the new intelligence economy.

Pitchworks intends to be that builder.

At Pitchworks, we are evolving our in-house AI-powered GCC into a Quantum Capability Engine — launching Quantum100 as a curated directory & roadmap of 100+ emerging quantum leaders, innovators, and use-cases shaping tomorrow. We believe the GCC model will expand from scaling Gen AI into operating quantum services, enabling quantum co-innovation, and incubating next-gen quantum startups across the GCC region. Quantum100 will provide quarterly insight reports, investment signals, and convergence mapping (quantum + domain). Watch this space — the next layer of compute infrastructure is being built now.