The financial sector is poised to be among the first to adopt quantum computing technologies as they become commercially viable in the coming years. As 2024 concludes, a review of recent developments has identified six trends likely to persist into 2025 and beyond.

One significant trend is the increased experimentation with logical qubits. A "logical qubit" refers to an arrangement of physical qubits that encodes information in a way that protects against errors. In early 2024, QuEra and Infleqtion published their logical qubit roadmaps, while Alice & Bob hinted at one forthcoming. Throughout the year, notable achievements included Google's demonstration of a quantum memory with below-threshold error rates on August 27 and Microsoft's announcement on September 10 that it had entangled 12 logical qubits.

Another trend involves developing specialized hardware and software rather than universal quantum computing systems. Companies like Bleximo, Qilimanjaro, and QuiX are focusing on creating application-specific systems for particular problems.

Networking noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices together is also gaining traction. On May 30, Photonic demonstrated distributed entanglement between separate quantum computers, while IBM announced on November 21 that it had linked two processors to create a virtual system.

There is also progress in creating more layers of software abstraction to simplify using quantum computers. Multiverse Computing's Singularity and Strangeworks' model are examples of efforts to make these technologies more accessible without requiring extensive knowledge of quantum computing.

Workforce development tools are becoming increasingly important as well. Programs from companies like Q-CTRL and QURECA offer training tailored for organizational needs rather than just individual career development.

Finally, research continues into improving physical qubits alongside implementing high-overhead error correction codes. Notable advancements include the University of Basel's demonstration of hole spin qubits on May 6 and Brookhaven National Laboratory's announcement on September 21 regarding new chip fabrication techniques.

These trends suggest accelerated experimentation as companies aim for commercial viability within the next few years.