Introduction
Quantum computing gets a lot of press coverage — most of it focused on when large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers will arrive and what they’ll break when they do. The patent story is less covered but arguably more immediately relevant for companies in adjacent technology sectors.
Global quantum technology patent filings have grown roughly fivefold from 2014 to 2024. IBM and Google together hold a dramatically disproportionate share of foundational quantum computing patents. And the adjacent categories — quantum sensing, metrology, and post-quantum cryptography — are filing fast in sectors that directly overlap with Switzerland’s industrial strengths.
For Swiss precision technology, semiconductor, and instrumentation companies, this isn’t a story about something happening in another industry. It’s a story about the IP landscape in your adjacent technology space — and whether you’ve mapped it.
The Scale and Concentration of Quantum Computing Patents
A few numbers set the context:
- Fivefold filing growth: global quantum technology patent filings have increased roughly fivefold from 2014 to 2024, with over 5,000 quantum-related patents filed in a single recent year and continued double-digit growth in patents granted.
- Extreme ownership concentration: IBM and Google together hold a commanding share of granted quantum technology patents — a steep drop-off separates these two companies from the next tier of quantum patent holders. For any company whose technology overlaps with quantum computing, the concentration of IP among two entities creates both a potential FTO question and a licensing landscape dominated by two counterparties.
- China’s growing position: Chinese entities — including state-affiliated research institutions and commercial technology companies — hold a significant and growing share of global quantum technology patents, backed by substantial national investment. China’s quantum patent position is not yet at the level of its 6G SEP position, but the direction of travel is similar.
The concentration among a small number of foundational patent holders is the critical strategic fact for adjacent industries. It means the quantum patent landscape doesn’t look like most technology sectors — it’s not fragmented across hundreds of companies. It’s concentrated, and the concentrated holders are actively building.
Why This Matters for Swiss Precision Technology Companies
Switzerland’s precision technology, semiconductor, and instrumentation sectors have technical adjacency to quantum technology even without being quantum computing companies themselves. The overlap is real and specific.
Quantum sensing and metrology: quantum sensing uses quantum mechanical properties — superposition, entanglement, interference — to achieve ultra-precise measurement of magnetic fields, gravitational fields, time and frequency standards, and other physical quantities. This overlaps directly with what Swiss precision instrumentation, watchmaking-adjacent micro-engineering, and scientific instrument companies do. As quantum sensing moves from pure research toward commercial instrumentation, patent filings in this category are growing and the FTO exposure for adjacent instrumentation companies is increasing.
Semiconductor and computing infrastructure: quantum computers require specialised semiconductor fabrication, cryogenic electronics, and precision signal control components — areas where Swiss semiconductor and precision electronics companies have existing expertise and commercial products. As quantum hardware scales, the demand for these adjacent components grows — and the IP landscape for those components is increasingly entangled with quantum patent portfolios.
Post-quantum cryptography: as quantum computing matures, current encryption standards become vulnerable. This is driving a parallel patent filing surge in quantum-resistant cryptographic methods. For Swiss companies handling sensitive data, financial transactions, or secure communications infrastructure, post-quantum cryptography is a pressing near-term concern — both as an FTO question for the cryptographic methods they’ll need to implement and as a potential filing opportunity for companies developing quantum-resistant security innovations.
Two Categories to Track Most Closely
Quantum Sensing and Metrology: Patent filing in this category is growing as quantum sensing moves toward commercial applications. Magnetic field sensing, gravimetry, and atomic clocks are the most commercially advanced sub-categories. For Swiss precision instrumentation companies, this is the highest-priority category for both FTO assessment and whitespace filing opportunity. The patent landscape is less mature than core quantum computing — which means both more FTO uncertainty and more genuine claim space for differentiated innovation.
Post-Quantum Cryptography: NIST finalised its first post-quantum cryptographic standards in 2024 (CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, SPHINCS+). Patent filings around implementations of these standards are growing fast. For any Swiss company that will need to implement post-quantum cryptography in its products — which is essentially any company in finance-adjacent technology, medical devices, or defence-adjacent systems — understanding the FTO landscape for these implementation methods is a near-term requirement.
Building a Quantum-Adjacent Landscape Analysis
A quantum-adjacent landscape analysis for a Swiss precision technology company looks different from a general quantum landscape. Here’s the practical approach:
- Map your core technology areas against the specific quantum sub-categories. Don’t run a general ‘quantum computing’ landscape — it will surface thousands of patents, most of which are irrelevant. Map your specific products and R&D areas to quantum sensing, metrology, or post-quantum cryptography specifically, and scope the landscape accordingly.
- Identify FTO exposure for your current product roadmap. Are any products currently in development or planned for launch going to operate in quantum sensing or post-quantum cryptography territory? If so, an FTO assessment against the existing patent landscape is the starting point — before development investment deepens.
- Find the whitespace where your expertise could support new patent filing. Quantum-adjacent categories are still developing. The precision engineering, materials, and instrumentation expertise that distinguishes Swiss technology companies hasn’t been fully mapped against the quantum-adjacent patent landscape. Where your existing expertise creates patentable innovations in quantum-adjacent applications — and where claim space is still available — early filing is a structural advantage.
How Our Landscape Analysis Service Covers Quantum-Adjacent Technology
Our patent landscape analysis service covers quantum computing and quantum-adjacent technology categories — quantum sensing, metrology, and post-quantum cryptography — mapped specifically against precision technology, semiconductor, and instrumentation sectors. For Swiss companies assessing exposure and opportunity, we provide both an FTO risk assessment and a whitespace analysis identifying where your existing technical expertise could support new patent filing in an emerging, still-developing competitive landscape.
Working in precision technology, semiconductors, or instrumentation in Switzerland? Quantum computing’s patent landscape may be more relevant to your roadmap than you think. Our landscape analysis maps the adjacent exposure and opportunity. → Contact Us
Conclusion: The Takeaway
Quantum computing patents are concentrating fast among a small number of dominant holders, while quantum-adjacent categories like sensing, metrology, and post-quantum cryptography are still developing. For Swiss precision technology companies, that combination creates two specific questions: does the FTO picture for your roadmap include quantum-adjacent patents you haven’t assessed? And is there whitespace in those adjacent categories where your precision engineering expertise could support a strong filing position?
Both questions are answerable now, while the landscape is still developing. The window to map and act on them is open today — before the adjacent categories consolidate the way core quantum computing already has.
