5 lessons from piloting the Quantum Economy Blueprint in Saudi Arabia

The Quantum Economy Blueprint is a conceptual framework developed by the World Economic Forum to help countries design and implement national quantum strategies. Built on an analysis of 24 national quantum strategies and contributions from leading organizations such as IBM, SandboxAQ, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and QETCI, it offers practical guidance for governments seeking to position themselves in the emerging quantum economy.

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Saudi Arabia led the first pilot of the blueprint. The initiative connected the World Economic Forum’s global expertise with Saudi Arabia’s growing quantum ecosystem to explore how the framework could support the country’s technological ambitions. This effort resulted in three publications: Towards Saudi Arabia’s Quantum-Enabled Future: Piloting the World Economic Forum’s Quantum Economy Blueprint, the white paper Piloting the Quantum Economy Blueprint: Lessons from Saudi Arabia, and Quantum Economy Landscape in Saudi Arabia, which served as the baseline for the pilot.

To translate insights into actionable plans for developing the national quantum economy, the initiative was organized around several workstreams led by key stakeholders across government, academia and industry. Piloting the blueprint allowed Saudi Arabia to build on the collective knowledge of the Quantum Economy Network, reflect strategically on the country’s role in the quantum landscape and accelerate collaboration across its ecosystem.

From this experience, five key lessons emerged:

Quantum strategies are most resilient when they are positioned as enablers to advance existing national goals, not as standalone scientific projects.

Anchoring a quantum strategy in national priorities is essential to sustain long-term momentum, particularly when governments face competing policy agendas and limited resources. The experience of piloting the Quantum Economy Blueprint in Saudi Arabia showed that quantum initiatives gain stronger institutional support when they are clearly connected to broader national objectives such as economic diversification, national security and technological leadership. By linking quantum ambitions to Vision 2030 from the outset, stakeholders positioned them as tools to advance existing development goals rather than standalone scientific initiatives.

This alignment helped maintain policy attention and mobilize multistakeholder engagement even as other priorities emerged. The pilot showed that global frameworks drive meaningful national progress only when they are aligned with domestic priorities; without this, quantum initiatives risk losing momentum.

Quantum value is unlocked when research meets real demand – through early industry engagement and governments acting as both investors and customers.

Unlocking the economic value of quantum technologies requires more than scientific breakthroughs; it requires linking research to markets and real use cases. The Quantum Economy Blueprint highlighted a persistent gap between research and commercialization, which can be bridged through collaboration across academia, industry and government, supported by shared infrastructure, clear technology transfer pathways, and mission-driven agendas. In Saudi Arabia, early engagement from major industry players such as Aramco helped validate use cases, de-risk investment, and signal demand for quantum-enabled solutions.

Governments can further accelerate adoption by co-investing in strategic applications, acting as early clients, and creating demand through public procurement. Aligning research agendas with industry needs is key to transforming quantum solutions into economic value.

In the quantum race, strategic access – through partnerships, cloud platforms and targeted investments – can matter more than full hardware ownership.

Much like the 20th-century space race, the emerging quantum race is a pursuit of technological advantage. Yet unlike earlier technological competitions, access to quantum hardware is increasingly shaped by geopolitical constraints, export controls, cost and complexity. As the Saudi Arabia pilot showed, access to quantum hardware is essential for research, capability-building and experimentation, while supply-chain mapping reveals dependencies in key components and materials.

At the same time, meaningful participation in the quantum ecosystem does not necessarily require full domestic ownership of hardware. Countries can remain active contributors by pursuing diversified access strategies, including cloud access, partnerships and targeted investments in value chain segments where they can build a competitive advantage.

Convening government, academia and industry from the outset transforms fragmented efforts into a coordinated ecosystem that sustains momentum beyond strategy design.

Another key lesson from piloting the Quantum Economy Blueprint is the importance of quickly building a multistakeholder community to increase alignment, foster trust and secure early buy-in. Quantum ecosystems naturally span government, academia and industry, each bringing different capabilities, incentives and timelines. In the Saudi pilot, structured engagement mechanisms – including a steering committee and thematic workstreams co-led by representatives from different sectors – created a shared space where priorities could be discussed and refined collectively.

This early collaboration helped surface conflicting assumptions, clarify roles and build shared ownership of the emerging national quantum agenda. Importantly, the process also created relationships and a common language among institutions that had previously operated in isolation, transforming fragmented initiatives into a coordinated community capable of sustaining momentum beyond the planning phase.

Quantum success isn’t about hardware – it’s about people. Countries that build diverse, quantum-literate talent and align education with industry and policy will lead in innovation and shape the quantum future.

A final lesson from piloting the Quantum Economy Blueprint is that thriving quantum ecosystems depend less on technology than on people. Building quantum capabilities requires diverse, quantum-literate talent across research, engineering, policy and business. The Saudi pilot showed that this talent extends beyond physicists to include algorithm designers, cryogenic and systems engineers, and professionals who can translate science into real-world applications.

Alongside technical expertise, soft and business skills – such as collaboration, communication, ethical reasoning and strategic thinking – are essential to connect research, policy and industry. Strengthening these pipelines requires coordinated investment in education, interdisciplinary training and academia-industry partnerships. Countries that clearly define needed capabilities, and align education, incentives and institutions accordingly, will be better positioned to sustain innovation, retain talent and responsibly govern the quantum economy.

Saudi Arabia’s pilot of the Quantum Economy Blueprint shows that turning a global framework into national action is not only possible, but effective. As more countries shape their quantum strategies, open collaboration and shared learning will be key to building an inclusive, secure and globally beneficial quantum economy. With the right vision, partnerships and talent – including often-overlooked business and soft skills – countries can move from conceptual frameworks to concrete progress in the quantum age.