December 2025 closed out the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with a concentrated burst of institutional action. G7 Industry, Digital and Technology ministers meeting in Montreal formally established a pilot Joint Working Group on Quantum Technologies and anchored it to a cluster of bilateral deals, including a Canada-Germany joint call for commercialization proposals and a UK-Canada commitment to quantum-secure transatlantic communications. Canada simultaneously launched its Quantum Champions Program with CAD 92 million in first-phase funding for four domestic firms. Chile became the latest country to publish a full national quantum strategy, and the UK confirmed over £1 billion in quantum allocations through 2030. Italy convened its first Quantum States General in Rome, signaling a shift from strategy drafting to execution. Taken together, these moves mark a month in which the policy architecture for quantum technology cooperation and competition moved from aspirational framing toward operational specificity.
G7: Montreal Declaration Establishes Quantum Working Group and Triggers Bilateral Deals
What happened. On December 9, G7 Industry, Digital and Technology ministers adopted a declaration in Montreal that formally created a pilot G7 Joint Working Group on Quantum Technologies under Canada’s presidency. The working group was tasked with informing cooperation on research, development, and commercialization (including voluntary joint calls for projects), advancing policy dialogues on innovation and adoption, and assessing societal impacts as quantum technologies move toward commercial and defense applications. South Korea attended as an invited guest, and the OECD served as knowledge partner. Around the same meeting, Canada and Germany announced a Digital Alliance covering quantum commercialization, with a joint call for proposals scheduled for January 2026 led by the National Research Council of Canada and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research. Separately, the UK and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding on digital government and the digital economy, reinforcing a joint commitment to quantum-secure transatlantic communications and announcing preparations for a joint satellite mission targeting early 2027.
Why it matters. The Montreal cluster of announcements represents the most concrete operational step yet taken by the G7 on quantum coordination. Previous statements, including the Kananaskis Common Vision from June 2025, established shared framing; the working group now provides a standing mechanism for policy alignment and potential co-funding. The Canada-Germany joint call is particularly instructive: it pairs two countries with strong quantum computing firms (Xanadu, Nord Quantique, Photonic in Canada; planqc, eleQtron, and others in Germany) in a format designed to move technologies toward market. The UK-Canada satellite MoU, backed by an Innovate UK competition worth up to £3.425 million and a Canadian Space Agency call for expressions of interest, represents one of the few quantum cooperation agreements with specific launch timelines attached. South Korea’s presence as an invited guest at the G7 table, following its own large-scale quantum strategy announcement earlier in 2025, signals growing G7 engagement with advanced non-member states on quantum governance.
What remains unclear. The working group’s mandate is described as a “pilot,” with no confirmed duration, budget, or secretariat. Whether it will produce binding coordination or remain a consultative forum depends on follow-through under France’s 2026 presidency. The joint call mechanisms also raise questions: how Canada-Germany proposals will handle IP, technology transfer, and export control constraints across jurisdictions has not been publicly detailed.
Who should care. Quantum computing and sensing firms seeking cross-border public co-funding opportunities. Trade policy officials tracking technology cooperation frameworks. Defense and space agencies involved in quantum-secure communications. Standards bodies preparing for interoperability demands across G7 members.
Canada: Quantum Champions Program Directs CAD 92 Million to Four Firms
What happened. On December 15, Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation announced Phase 1 of the Canadian Quantum Champions Program (CQCP). Four Canadian-headquartered companies, Anyon Systems, Nord Quantique, Photonic, and Xanadu Quantum Technologies, can each receive up to CAD 23 million under agreements totaling up to CAD 92 million. The program forms part of a broader CAD 334.3 million Budget 2025 commitment over five years. The National Research Council of Canada will create a Benchmarking Quantum Platform to assess technical progress. The program is directed at fault-tolerant quantum computer development with industrial applications.
Why it matters. The CQCP represents Canada’s most direct investment in domestic quantum hardware companies to date. By selecting four firms representing distinct hardware approaches (superconducting, spin-qubit, photonic, and silicon photonic architectures), the program distributes risk across platforms while concentrating enough capital per firm to matter at early commercialization stages. The accompanying benchmarking platform is a notable design choice: it creates a government-operated yardstick for evaluating the technical progress of funded companies, which could eventually inform procurement decisions. The program also provides a policy response to a challenge facing Canadian quantum firms: several have attracted international capital and partnerships, raising questions about where the commercial returns from publicly funded research will land.
What remains unclear. How the benchmarking platform will define and measure progress toward fault tolerance. Whether Phase 2 selection criteria will narrow the field or add participants. How the program interacts with the Canada-Germany joint call announced days earlier, particularly for firms like Xanadu that operate across both ecosystems.
Who should care. Quantum hardware companies competing for or partnering with the four selected firms. Institutional investors tracking public validation signals for quantum startups. Government procurement officials designing similar national champion frameworks.
Chile: First Latin American Country to Launch Full National Quantum Strategy
What happened. In December, President Gabriel Boric and the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation formally launched the National Strategy for Quantum Technologies 2025-2035 at a public event in Santiago attended by more than 400 representatives. The strategy outlines a roadmap for building national capabilities in quantum computing, sensing, secure communications, and materials simulation. It prioritizes industrial applications for the mining, energy, and telecommunications sectors. Policy instruments include institutional funding through ANID, project-specific grants, and public procurement. The 2025-2027 implementation phase focuses on talent development, PhD scholarships, laboratory expansion (cryogenic and photonic), and deployment of national testbeds for post-quantum cryptography. No total budget figure was released.
Why it matters. Chile is the first Latin American country to formally publish a full national quantum strategy, moving ahead of larger regional economies such as Brazil and Mexico. The strategy’s emphasis on mining and energy applications reflects a deliberate effort to link quantum capabilities to Chile’s existing industrial base, rather than pursuing a broad-spectrum research agenda. The inclusion of post-quantum cryptography testbeds indicates attention to the security dimensions of the quantum transition, not just the computing opportunity. The absence of a published budget figure, however, limits the ability to assess implementation credibility. Argentina’s recent acquisition of an educational quantum computer at UNAHUR and Brazil’s cumulative BRL 430 million portfolio provide regional context, but neither country has matched Chile’s strategic-level policy document.
What remains unclear. The funding envelope for the strategy’s first phase. Whether ANID will administer a dedicated quantum funding line or integrate quantum into existing competitive grant programs. How Chile will attract sufficient PhD-level talent given global competition for quantum researchers. Whether the strategy will produce regulatory proposals (for example, on PQC migration timelines for critical infrastructure) or remain focused on capacity building.
Who should care. Latin American researchers and institutions seeking cross-border quantum partnerships. Mining and energy companies operating in Chile that may encounter quantum-enabled optimization or sensing requirements. International quantum firms evaluating market entry in Latin America. Development finance institutions tracking science policy capacity in middle-income countries.
United Kingdom: UKRI Confirms Over £1 Billion for Quantum Through 2030
What happened. On December 17, UK Research and Innovation published budget allocations for the spending review period (FY 2026-27 through FY 2029-30), confirming that quantum technologies would receive £1.013 billion across the four-year period. The allocation sits within UKRI’s broader £38.6 billion government settlement and is distributed across three priority areas: curiosity-driven research, targeted R&D addressing national and societal challenges (including defense), and support for innovative companies to scale and commercialize technologies. The allocation forms a core component of the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, which identifies quantum as one of eight high-growth sectors.
Why it matters. The £1 billion figure represents the first detailed confirmation of how the UK government’s previously announced quantum spending commitments will flow through the research funding system. Coming six months after a £670 million, ten-year settlement for the National Quantum Computing Centre and related initiatives announced in June, the UKRI allocation broadens the picture to include sensing, networking, and fundamental research. UKRI’s stated target of leveraging £3 of private investment for every £1 of public spending signals an expectation that the quantum sector will generate substantial co-investment, though the mechanism for tracking and enforcing this ratio is not defined. The four-year horizon provides more planning certainty than typical annual budget cycles, which is valuable for research groups and companies building multi-year programs.
What remains unclear. Exactly how the £1.013 billion breaks down by quantum sub-domain (computing, sensing, networking, fundamental research). Whether this figure overlaps with or sits alongside the £670 million NQCC settlement announced in June. How the “outcome-focused” budget framework, which UKRI said makes direct comparisons with previous budgets impossible, will be evaluated against stated objectives.
Who should care. UK-based quantum companies and research groups planning multi-year programs. International quantum firms evaluating UK partnerships or market entry. Treasury and finance ministry officials in other countries benchmarking public quantum investment levels.
Italy: First Quantum States General Convenes in Rome
What happened. On December 17, Rome hosted the first Italian Quantum General Assembly (Stati Generali delle Tecnologie Quantistiche), organized by the Department for Digital Transformation in collaboration with six ministries and the National Cybersecurity Agency. More than 450 stakeholders attended. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto proposed the creation of a National Quantum Polo, a centralized body to coordinate quantum research, industry, and institutional efforts. Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, Ministers Adolfo Urso and Anna Maria Bernini also addressed the assembly. Undersecretary Butti described the event as a shift from “talking about quantum” to putting the national strategy into practice, with contributions intended to guide planned actions for 2026.
Why it matters. Italy’s Quantum States General is the first large-scale, multi-ministry convening since the country published its quantum strategy. The event’s significance lies less in any single announcement than in the political signals it sent. The presence of the Defence Minister and his proposal for a National Quantum Polo indicate that defense and security applications are moving to the center of Italy’s quantum policy, mirroring trends in France, the UK, and Germany. The multi-ministry organizational structure (six ministries plus the cybersecurity agency) reflects the cross-cutting nature of quantum policy but also raises coordination questions. Italy’s position within the broader EU quantum framework, particularly in relation to the forthcoming Quantum Act expected in 2026, adds a layer of complexity: national strategy implementation will need to align with EU-level governance structures still under development.
What remains unclear. Whether the proposed National Quantum Polo will receive dedicated funding and statutory authority, or remain a coordination mechanism. How Italy’s national strategy implementation will interact with the EU Quantum Act, whose call for evidence closed on December 15. What specific actions for 2026 emerged from the assembly’s working sessions.
Who should care. EU quantum companies and research organizations tracking national implementation within the Quantum Flagship framework. Defense technology firms monitoring European quantum procurement signals. Italian universities and research institutes positioning for national funding cycles. EU institutions preparing the Quantum Act legislative proposal.
China: National Venture Capital Guidance Fund Launched With Quantum Among Target Sectors
What happened. On December 26, China formally launched the National Venture Capital Guidance Fund, capitalized at 100 billion yuan (approximately $14 billion) from the central government. Three regional investment vehicles covering the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area were introduced alongside the national fund, each expected to exceed 50 billion yuan. At the launch ceremony, the three regional funds signed investment intents with 49 sub-funds and announced 27 direct investment projects spanning quantum technology, integrated circuits, biomedicine, and other strategic sectors. Sub-funds are required to invest at least 70 percent of their capital in seed-stage and early-stage companies.
Why it matters. The fund represents a structural shift in how China channels capital into quantum technology. While previous investments have flowed primarily through state research budgets and SOE-directed programs, the venture capital guidance fund is designed to mobilize market-oriented investment at scale, with the central government absorbing early-stage risk. The 70 percent seed-and-early-stage requirement ensures the fund targets the commercialization gap rather than duplicating existing research spending. The regional structure, mapping onto China’s three most economically productive clusters, ensures geographic coverage of the country’s primary quantum research and industrial nodes (including the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei within the Yangtze River Delta zone, and several quantum firms in Beijing and Shenzhen). The total mobilization target across national and regional funds could approach 250 billion yuan, though the quantum-specific share is not publicly itemized.
What remains unclear. What share of the fund’s portfolio will be directed specifically to quantum technology versus other strategic sectors such as integrated circuits and biomedicine. How the fund’s investment decisions will interact with existing state-directed quantum programs. Whether the fund’s structure will attract private co-investment at the scale implied by the guidance mechanism, or function primarily as a state capital deployment vehicle.
Who should care. Global quantum investors tracking Chinese capital formation patterns. Quantum startups in China or with Chinese market exposure. Export control and investment screening officials in G7 countries monitoring China’s quantum commercialization infrastructure. Supply chain analysts tracking the geography of quantum industrial capacity.
Also in December 2025
The OECD published two major quantum reports in December: an overview of national quantum strategies documenting 18 OECD members plus the EU with dedicated strategies and an estimated USD 55.7 billion in global government commitments since 2013, and a joint report with the European Patent Office mapping the global quantum ecosystem through patent, startup, investment, and workforce data.
Slovakia deployed its first national quantum communication network under the skQCI project, connecting the Office of the President, the National Security Authority, and Slovak Academy of Sciences facilities in Bratislava through quantum key distribution provided by IonQ subsidiary ID Quantique.
Norway’s Research Council awarded four national quantum technology research centers, covering quantum software, quantum communication networks, and quantum computing applications, with each center eligible for up to NOK 61 million in funding.
Malaysia hosted the first ASEAN Quantum Summit, officially endorsed by all ten ASEAN member states, where Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn encouraged alignment of quantum R&D with the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation 2026-2035.
South Korea finalized an agreement for the delivery of a 100-qubit IonQ Tempo quantum system to KISTI’s flagship HANGANG supercomputer, creating the country’s first hybrid quantum-classical computing platform accessible to researchers and enterprises via private cloud.
Detailed cross-jurisdictional analysis, sector-specific risk assessments, and a structured comparison of the funding and governance developments covered in this briefing are available to Quantum Policy Radar subscribers.