Engineering community survey finds nearly half expect quantum computing to remain more than five years from chip-design relevance

A reader survey run by eeNews Europe and Elektor on quantum computing attitudes found that nearly 45% of respondents believe quantum computing will not become relevant to their engineering projects for more than five years, and around one in five think it may never affect their work at all^[1]. The results, published in August 2026, draw on responses from the electronics and semiconductor engineering community and offer a rare ground-level view of how practising engineers gauge the technology's commercial horizon.

Curiosity is high; urgency is not

The headline finding is a gap between intellectual interest and practical expectation. Roughly two-thirds of respondents describe themselves as curious about quantum computing's rise, while approximately 30% say they are excited^[1]. Scepticism is a minority position: only a small fraction of respondents describe themselves as concerned or dismissive.

That curiosity extends to the underlying technology. Around two-thirds of respondents say they are very interested in understanding how quantum computing works, with another third saying they are somewhat interested^[1]. Virtually no one said they only wanted to know about practical applications, suggesting the community is tracking the field for its own sake rather than waiting for a product brief.

Yet interest does not translate into near-term expectation. Only a small percentage of respondents say quantum computing is already relevant to their daily work^[1].

Where engineers put the inflection point

Respondents' timeline estimates cluster into three broad camps:

• A small minority who say quantum is relevant now
• Roughly one-third who expect relevance within the next five years
• Nearly 45% who place the inflection point beyond five years, and around one in five who think it may never arrive for their specific projects^[1]

That distribution broadly tracks published hardware roadmaps. Based on published hardware roadmaps and industry planning assumptions, meaningful quantum advantage for specialized applications is generally projected within 3-7 years, with mainstream utility estimated at 7-15 years. Quantum computing has a history of milestones arriving later than predicted, and a single unforeseen engineering barrier could push dates back by years.

The semiconductor manufacturing connection

The survey results land at a moment when quantum computing and conventional semiconductor manufacturing are converging more directly than at any previous point. In January 2026, IonQ announced an agreement to acquire SkyWater Technology for approximately $1.8 billion in cash and stock; SkyWater is the largest exclusively US-based pure-play semiconductor foundry and previously fabricated superconducting qubits for D-Wave's Advantage2 system. That deal closed on 31 July 2026, creating the first vertically integrated quantum-semiconductor company.

Silicon spin qubits add a second intersection point. Silicon-based qubits can use existing semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure, potentially offering a path to mass production. If that path matures, the engineers who today say quantum is more than five years away may find the technology arriving through their existing fab relationships rather than as an entirely foreign platform.

The next data point to watch is whether the IonQ-SkyWater integration produces a commercially available quantum-on-silicon process node - and whether that changes how chip engineers answer the same question in the next survey cycle.