06 — Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

TGNA Foresight Score: 74 · ▲ Ascending

The signal: Waterloo has accumulated more than $1.5 billion in quantum-related investment over two decades and is now home to 20+ quantum companies and over 300 researchers within a single square kilometer, the highest concentration of quantum expertise anywhere in the world.

Signs: Google's quantum processor completed a benchmark computation in under five minutes in 2024 a task that would take classical supercomputers an estimated 10 septillion years. In 2025, Microsoft revealed its Majorana 1 chip as a breakthrough in quantum stability. Both milestones validate the foundational research that Waterloo's ecosystem has been building for two decades and signal that the quantum race is entering its applied phase.

Events: In 2024, the Government of Canada invested $18.4 million in IQC Canada Inc. through the Strategic Science Fund. Also, $17.2 million in federal funding supported quantum startup commercialization in Southern Ontario, including $3.7 million for High Q Technologies and direct support for Foqus Technologies. An additional $14.9 million was committed to the Quantum Valley Ideas Lab to accelerate applied quantum development.

Trends: Waterloo's quantum ecosystem is moving steadily from foundational research toward commercial application. Also employment in quantum businesses is growing 10% every two years and the city is attracting researchers who are choosing it over positions at major tech companies.

Drivers: The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the Institute for Quantum Computing have spent two decades building the talent, research infrastructure and commercialization ecosystem that quantum requires. Canada's cross-party commitment to quantum as a national strategic priority means the investment is insulated from electoral cycles.

Waterloo is North America’s deep technology laboratory and where the quantum future is being built.

Federico Quinzaños

Founder - The Grand North America