In a recent interview, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai dropped one of the most quietly explosive comments of the year — and it wasn't about AI. Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Pichai said the company's quantum program is reaching a tipping point, remarking: "I would say quantum is there where maybe AI was 5 years ago. So I think in five years from now we'll be going through a very exciting phase in quantum."
- Track quantum stocks via QTUM here.
For investors looking for the next "AI-level" wave before it becomes obvious, those words landed like a starter pistol.
Google CEO Reignites Quantum Momentum
Pichai framed quantum computing as a foundational leap rather than just incremental tech, telling the BBC: "We have the state-of-the-art quantum computing efforts in the world… building quantum systems I think will help us better simulate and understand nature and unlock many benefits for society."
That's a rare on-record statement from a major Big Tech CEO placing a timeline around commercialization — and it's already stirring traders who've been watching quantum quietly sit in the shadows while AI dominated headlines.
If Pichai is right and quantum now sits where AI sat in 2019, the trade becomes obvious: accumulation before the hype cycle.
Read Also: $30 Billion Wiped Out: Is This Quantum’s Dot-Com Moment?
Which Quantum Stocks Stand To Benefit?
Public pure-play quantum names have been on a rollercoaster this year, creating what believers see as deep asymmetric setups:
- IonQ Inc (NYSE:IONQ) — one of the few publicly traded quantum hardware players, down sharply from highs and searching for catalysts.
- D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) — commercial annealing-based systems already deployed with enterprise customers, offering one of the most practical near-term use paths.
- Rigetti Computing Inc (NYSE:RGTI) — focused on superconducting quantum processors; volatile but levered to commercialization progress.
- Quantum Computing Inc (NYSE:QUBT) — speculative, software-focused entry.
- Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) via its stake in Quantinuum — under-appreciated quantum exposure inside an industrial giant.
- IBM (NYSE:IBM) — continues expanding roadmap for scalable quantum systems with commercial partnerships.
And of course, Alphabet, which Pichai directly referenced as aggressively investing in the category.
Investor Takeaway
Quantum isn't a today trade — it's a build-the-position-before-the-crowd-wakes-up trade. Pichai tying quantum's trajectory directly to the AI adoption curve gives Wall Street a timeline it never had before.
If AI is the bubble everyone's debating, quantum may be the next wave nobody's priced in yet. And when a CEO sitting on $90 billion in annual capex says quantum's moment is coming, the clock just started ticking.
This winter's hottest compute trade might not be GPUs — it might be qubits.
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