BEYOND THE HYPE: HOW QUANTUM COMPUTING IS ALREADY TRANSFORMING FINANCE
Where Quantum Meets the City: How a Hackathon Became a Blueprint for the Future of Financial Innovation
Long after the applause faded inside Mansion House, the impact of the City of London’s Quantum Computing Hackathon continues to reverberate across the financial sector. What unfolded was more than a technical competition; it was a glimpse into how quantum computing may soon reshape everything from portfolio optimisation to fraud detection — and how the UK intends to position itself at the forefront of that transformation.
Hosted by Lord Mayor Alastair King in partnership with IBM and supported by NayaOne, the initiative brought together academics, technologists, financial analysts and quantum engineers who collaborated on challenges that traditional computing struggles to address. Their remit: tackle problems in risk modelling, market simulation, post-trade innovation and fraud detection using cutting-edge quantum tools.
Participants were granted privileged access to IBM’s quantum cloud systems, working directly with Qiskit and guided by industry experts. The result was a rare platform where experimentation, competition and cross-sector dialogue converged in service of breakthroughs that may one day enter mainstream financial infrastructure.
WarwiQC and the Rise of Quantum Portfolio Optimisation
The winning team, WarwiQC — representing talent from NatWest, ETH Zurich, University of Warwick, University of Surrey, the National Quantum Computing Centre and University College London — focused on AI-assisted Quantum Portfolio Optimisation. Their work demonstrated how quantum algorithms could accelerate complex optimisation tasks that banks and asset managers currently spend vast computational resources on.
It was a project that embodied the spirit of the event: rigorous, collaborative and anchored in real-world financial applications.
Other standout finalists explored quantum-based market simulation, advanced optimisation methods and post-trade innovation — areas where operational efficiency and predictive accuracy could deliver enormous long-term value to global markets.
A Turning Point for Quantum Finance
Rather than a one-off showcase, the Hackathon became a milestone in the UK’s ambition to lead in quantum-enabled financial services. The City of London — already Europe’s top tech hub and home to the continent’s largest concentration of AI and quantum start-ups — is working to embed quantum innovation into its financial ecosystem.
Lord Mayor Alastair King said the initiative was designed to accelerate that mission. “As we look to capitalise on high value financial use cases, my Quantum Hackathon initiative was designed to bring together the brightest minds across finance and technology with a special focus on quantum. This Hackathon, in partnership with IBM, supported by NayaOne, has shown what successful collaboration between industry and academia can look like, and I congratulate WarwiQC for their victory in this fierce competition. It is important that quantum finance innovation continues apace, and the City of London and the UK, through collaboration and competition, can play a leading role in advancing quantum technology.”
Building Momentum for a Quantum-Enabled Economy
For IBM, the Hackathon reinforced the importance of collaborative development as the race toward quantum advantage intensifies.
Dr Nicola Hodson, Chair of IBM UK and Ireland, said: “The finance-focused hackathon that we collaborated on with the City of London is a great example of how we can quickly get experts together to creatively explore how quantum computing could soon impact the industry. At IBM, we are committed to achieving a quantum advantage in 2026. And it’s through collaboration with the broader ecosystem that quantum applications will be able to run a computation more accurately, cheaply, or efficiently than a classical computer, alone.”
Government, too, sees this ecosystem approach as essential to the UK’s economic future.
Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “This hackathon is a great demonstration of what the UK does so well in quantum innovation — bringing together talent from our universities, financial institutions and technology companies to solve real challenges for businesses, like detecting fraud. Congratulations to the winning team and all the finalists. Their work shows how quantum computing can transform financial services and drive the high-skilled jobs and growth that will power our quantum-enabled economy.”
Innovation Infrastructure, Not Just Innovation Intent
For NayaOne, which supports financial institutions with digital sandbox environments, the Hackathon highlighted a broader principle: innovation becomes meaningful only when researchers have the tools and space to build.
Chief executive Karan Jain said: “Quantum may still feel early, but this is exactly how early becomes ready — by giving people the tools, data, and space to experiment together. The City of London is showing what real innovation infrastructure looks like in practice — not just a vision, but a platform that enables progress.”
A Glimpse Into the Future
For the winning team and fellow participants, the experience marked an inflection point in their understanding of what quantum technology can achieve.
WarwiQC said: “We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take part in this competition. It has been an inspiring experience to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity in quantum computing. Getting to experiment directly on real quantum hardware was both exciting and eye-opening, showing us the power and potential of this emerging field. This experience has deepened our passion for shaping the future of quantum technology and exploring what’s next.”
The Hackathon may have lasted only days, but its influence is more enduring. It provided a living demonstration of how quantum and finance are beginning to converge — and how a new generation of researchers, corporates and policymakers is preparing to define the next era of financial innovation.
