To The Moon

During his lecture in 1964, theoretical physicist Richard Feynman once mentioned, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." FYI, Feynman shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in quantum electrodynamics., that lays the groundwork for modern day quantum computing. Back then, if he said no one understood quantum mechanics, then no one understood quantum mechanics. This is mentioned for two main reasons: First, quantum computing, a popular new technology is based on quantum mechanics. Second, Warren Buffett is known for saying, "Never invest in a business you cannot understand." Based on 2nd reasoning, it may seem like Buffett wouldn't invest in quantum computing stocks. However, that's not the case as it turned out to be. Actually, the legendary investor owns the following three quantum computing stocks -- even though they do not show up in any of $Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B)$ regulatory filings. The 3 stocks are ? GOOG as of 15 Jul 2025, YTD $Alphabet(GOOG)$ You won't find Alphabet listed among Berkshire Hathaway's holdings. The "Oracle of Omaha" has a stake in Alphabet, though, via New England Asset Management (NEAM). In 1998, Berkshire acquired General Re, that had acquired NEAM 3 years earlier. Any stock in NEAM's portfolio is, by extension, a Buffett stock. Alphabet’s Quantum Development. GOOG has made multiple advances in quantum computing. The company's Google Quantum AI unit announced in 2019 that it had achieved quantum supremacy, that means a quantum computer performed a calculation that would take the fastest classical supercomputer a ridiculously long amount of time to handle. In 2023, Google Quantum AI took a giant step forward in quantum error correction, that is the bane plaquing current quantum computing technology. GOOG still has 4 more milestones to check off on its quantum computing roadmap. Google Quantum AI, Director of hardware, Julian Kelly told CNBC earlier in 2025, “a real breakthrough with practical uses that only a quantum computer can handle is expected in about 5 years”. IBM as of 15 Jul 2025, YTD $IBM(IBM)$ Several years ago, Buffett bought shares of IBM for Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Although he later exited the position, he still has a stake in the technology pioneer thanks to NEAM. The Berkshire subsidiary owns 20,285 shares of IBM. Like Google Quantum AI, IBM has a well-defined quantum computing roadmap. IBM has been working on quantum computing since 2016. However, IBM began following its roadmap in 2020. Big Blue does not lack confidence in its capabilities. IBM stated categorically in a blog post that it's "the only quantum computing organization in the world that will be capable of running quantum programs at the scale of hundreds of logical qubits and millions of quantum gates by the end of the decade." IBM believes that it "has the most viable path to realize fault-tolerant quantum computing." MSFT as of 15 Jul 2025, YTD $Microsoft(MSFT)$ Although Buffett has been friends with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for years, he never added the software stock to Berkshire's portfolio. NEAM, on the other hand, continues to have a stake in Microsoft. Microsoft argues that its quantum computing unit is "leading the industry with advanced technology that accelerates scientific discovery." Earlier in 2025, MSFT introduced its Majorana 1 quantum chip. This chip is based on an architecture that Microsoft expects will lead to quantum computers that can solve "meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades." Commercial Customers ? After all that has been said and done, the million-dollar question is "do all 3 of these companies have paying business customers and are they starting to make money from them?" Based on available information, IBM is the only company among GOOG, IBM, and MSFT with clear, public evidence of commercial / business customers actively using its quantum computing services via the IBM Quantum Platform. For example: The IBM Quantum System Two, has been installed in San Sebastián, Spain, that is intended for commercial & research use. Public announcements and industry analyses highlight IBM's leadership in bringing quantum technology from research into real business applications. Unfortunately, no specific customer names are mentioned except for IBM’s commercial engagement is clearly documented, while similar evidence for Alphabet and Microsoft is not present in the provided sources. On The Other Hand. A smaller market cap quantum stock has an impressive list of commercial customers. This stock is $D-Wave Quantum Inc.(QBTS)$. As of Q1 2025, QBTS reported a total of 69 commercial customers, including 25 from the Forbes Global 2000. Some named commercial customers and use cases include: Mastercard: Uses D-Wave quantum computing for complex optimization tasks. NTT Docomo (Japan): Applies D-Wave technology to optimize cell tower resource allocation, reducing optimization time and increasing call capacity. Pattison Food Group: Operates over 100 e-commerce delivery outlets and uses D-Wave to reduce weekly manual scheduling by about 80%. Oto (vehicle assembler): Uses D-Wave’s quantum annealing technology to cut scheduling time by over 80%. D-Wave also announced its first commercial sale of an Advantage quantum computer system to the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. The German firm serves a range of sectors, including: Logistics. Telecommunications. Food distribution. Blockchain mining, with several unnamed airline and mobile gaming companies also reported as clients or in discussions. All above demonstrates active commercial adoption of QBTS’s quantum computing solutions by large enterprises and industry leaders. Open ended question. When it comes to investing in quantum computing, do you follow your head and go with the big boys even though they do not have any commercial success story to bang on ? Or do you take a leap of faith and go with the smaller boy/s that is already building up a list of customers, albeit an impressive one (I may add). Is investing in quantum computing a sure-win if you follow the big boys ? I'm not so sure. Take Palantir for example, it was not a major company when it IPO, but look at where it is today. Remember to check out my other posts. (See below). Help to Repost ok, Thanks. Must Read: Click on below titles to access. Repost to share, Like as encouragement ok. Thanks. If CPI inflation jumps, US Market tumbles ? Tue, 15 July. Picked post. Sell TSLA, F, STLA & GM with EV Tax credit ending ? Tue, 15 July. Picked post. TSLA is Magnificent 7 weakest link ! Sell ? Mon, 14 July. Picked post. Do you think it is safer to bet on GOOG, IBM and MSFT for all things Quantum-related ? Do you think going forward, when it comes to investment (in any sector), it will always be the “best man” takes all ? If you find this post interesting, give it wings! ️ Repost and share the insights ? Do consider “Follow me” and get firsthand read of my daily new post. Thank you. @Daily_Discussion @TigerPM @TigerStars @Tiger_SG @TigerEvents