From Theory to Impact: Winning Quantum for Society Challenge Startups Take On the Planet’s Greatest Challenges

Insider Brief:

• Ten startups were recognized on World Quantum Day in Riyadh for applying quantum technologies to urgent sustainability challenges, including water scarcity, climate change, and healthcare.

• Winners like Nomad Atomics, PlanetAI Space, and Quantum Mads are using quantum sensing and machine learning to address environmental monitoring, CO₂ storage, and water management.

• Startups such as Algorithmiq, Qnity, and Quantasphere are advancing quantum applications in healthcare, from drug discovery to genomic data security, using both software and hardware innovations.

• The Quantum for Society Challenge, backed by the World Economic Forum and C4IR KSA, intends to accelerate quantum impact by integrating early-stage innovators into a global support ecosystem aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

On World Quantum Day in Riyadh, a vision long held by the quantum community in theory came to life. Ten startups from across the globe were recognized for their work in applying quantum technologies not to chase abstraction—but to confront the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges. Announced by the World Economic Forum’s UpLink initiative and the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Saudi Arabia, the Quantum for Society Challenge winners exemplify how quantum solutions are shifting from theoretical promise to tangible progress.

As noted in a news release from the organizers, the winning cohort reflects a broad spectrum of maturity—from seed-stage innovators to Series A and B scale-ups. Yet all share a common goal: applying quantum technologies to problems deeply rooted in the human condition—water scarcity, climate change, critical resource depletion, healthcare inequities. While quantum computing often commands the spotlight, the challenge’s outcomes demonstrate that the quantum future is anything but singular. Rather, it is plural, multidisciplinary, and already underway.

A Technological Inflection Point

According to a 2024 report by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, quantum sensing stands out as one of the more mature segments of the quantum technology stack, most likely to be capable of near-term societal impact. These sensors are able to detect minute changes in physical systems, offering unmatched precision in applications like subsurface imaging, environmental monitoring, and biomedical diagnostics.

Nomad Atomics, one of the winning startups, speaks to this capability. Headquartered in Melbourne with an office in Germany, Nomad is developing a quantum gravimeter—a sensor that may measure tiny variations in gravitational acceleration to image underground reservoirs. As carbon capture and storage gains traction in climate mitigation efforts, reliable monitoring of CO₂ migration becomes a non-negotiable. While traditional sensors struggle with this task, quantum-enabled gravity sensors can detect mass shifts in geological formations, helping regulators and operators ensure stored carbon remains securely trapped. “Gravity monitoring can really only be achieved with quantum sensors because they offer much higher accuracy and reliability than traditional sensors,” said Kyle Hardman, the company’s CEO.

This emphasis on real-world deployment echoes across the cohort. In Spain, Quantum Mads is exploring how quantum optimization algorithms might streamline wastewater treatment, improving energy efficiency in bioreactors, which are systems that often consume high power under uncertain chemical dynamics.

In another water-focused innovation, PlanetAI Space, also based in Spain, is building a satellite-driven quantum machine learning platform to detect underground freshwater sources—an essential intervention in regions where field-based monitoring is not possible. Their Quantum Aqua tool blends satellite imagery with hybrid quantum-classical inference, generating high-resolution maps to support sustainable water management.

Beyond the Lab: Commercializing Quantum for Healthcare

Healthcare has long been framed as one of the most promising applications for quantum computing, particularly in drug discovery and molecular simulation. According to The Quantum Insider, Algorithmiq, a Finnish Series A company, is developing software interfaces that help researchers extract more usable information from current quantum hardware. Their platform, Aurora, includes digital quantum interfaces tailored for simulating molecular structures, which is an otherwise computationally intractable task using classical approaches. The company sees quantum not just as a faster tool, but as a fundamentally better lens through which to understand biomolecular systems.

Qnity, a Brazilian startup, is also targeting drug discovery—albeit with a different approach. Their innovation lies in electrochemical quantum sensors designed to detect molecular interactions with extreme sensitivity, potentially reducing the time and cost involved in identifying viable therapeutic candidates. Such sensors may complement quantum computing platforms by generating more precise experimental data for training and validation.

On the infrastructure side of healthcare, Quantum Dice from the UK and Quantasphere from Saudi Arabia are taking on the growing challenge of quantum-safe security. Quantum Dice is developing a quantum random number generator based on the intrinsic randomness of photon measurement, an essential component for cryptographic protocols. Quantasphere, meanwhile, is using quantum key distribution to secure sensitive genomic and healthcare data, recognizing that the encryption algorithms securing patient records today may not be safe in a post-quantum future.

Expanding the Quantum Stack

Not all startups in the cohort are application-focused. Some are building foundational infrastructure that others can leverage. Planqc, a Munich-based company, is developing quantum computers using neutral atoms. Neutral atoms are manipulated using arrays of optical tweezers and can potentially scale more easily while still providing long coherence times. Planqc is targeting industrial problems that require high-dimensional optimization and simulation, including in materials science and logistics.

Xairos Systems from the United States is focusing on something subtler but just as essential: time. Their goal is to create quantum-based time synchronization systems to replace GPS-dependent timing mechanisms, which are vital for financial markets, power grids, and smart city infrastructures. By using quantum principles to establish global time references, Xairos hopes to increase robustness and reduce vulnerabilities to spoofing or drift in critical systems.

And Quminex, a Canadian startup, is applying quantum machine learning to mineral exploration. In an era of electrification and rare earth scarcity, locating critical minerals efficiently is a geopolitical and environmental imperative. By refining the way subsurface data is processed and analyzed, Quiminex intends to lower the cost and environmental impact of mineral prospecting.

The Ecosystem That Makes It Possible

The Quantum for Society Challenge is more than an awards program—it’s a case study in ecosystem enablement. As described by the World Economic Forum, the winning startups are integrated into the UpLink Innovation Ecosystem, gaining access to technical support, strategic partners, and exposure to global decision-makers. The goal is not only to recognize quantum impact, but to accelerate it.

This challenge also aligns closely with the Sustainable Development Goals. As detailed in the 2024 WEF report, quantum sensing may support SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) through enhanced monitoring and distribution, while quantum computing may catalyze SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) through its capabilities in simulation, materials discovery, and energy optimization.

Still, as WEF’s Arunima Sarkar emphasized during the announcement, “Technology itself is not enough. What the world needs most are new ideas when it comes to solving society’s biggest challenges.” The challenge’s focus on early-stage talent and emerging solutions reflects that ethos—building infrastructure, not just devices.

A Quiet Revolution

The narrative around quantum computing often leans toward dramatic thresholds, be it talk of quantum advantage, supremacy, or disruption. But as this cohort of startups shows, quantum’s true value will transcend beyond a singular advancement, but will instead excel in steady integration. Quantum sensing aiding CO₂ storage. Cryptography safeguarding genomic records. Algorithms optimizing rural water use.

And in a world that desperately needs new tools for an increasingly complex age, quantum technologies are beginning to show what they were always meant to be: not just powerful, but purposeful.