Good morning. Many CEOs are still grappling with how to get meaningful value from AI, but a growing number have their sights set on the next potentially disruptive business technology: quantum computing. Allstate's Tom Wilson is one of them.
"Quantum will solve problems that traditional compute takes too long to do. And that AI can't really do," Wilson, Allstate's Chair, President and CEO, told me. He said he doesn't know exactly when the technology will prove out its promises, or how much of a competitive advantage it will deliver to the early adopters -- although he's certain there will be one.
Allstate's quantum team -- currently at 10 people and growing -- is investigating the technology for use cases like evaluating complex risk factors and relationships to determine more precise prices that better reflect the underlying level of risk for certain policies.
Wilson's message to his peers is simple: "Get on the train." Companies that don't invest now, won't be ready to take advantage of it whenever it does ultimately mature. He drew comparisons with the way the emergence of generative AI surprised businesses, who didn't have the right talent or data infrastructure in place to start using it right away.
"You can invest in quantum, but really the thing is, do you know enough about quantum? And are you engaged enough in the development of quantum so that you know how to build your current system so that it's ready when quantum is ready?"
Quantum computing uses the principles of quantum physics to solve problems far beyond the capabilities of today's best supercomputers. While the timelines on commercially meaningful quantum computers are sometimes vague and debated, enterprises are investing today.
According to a report from Boston Consulting Group, enterprises collectively spent $300 million on the technology in 2025, outranking the combined spending by research labs and governments for the first time and signaling an inflection point in commercial interest in the technology. Read more about what businesses like HSBC and EY, as well as Allstate, are doing with it here .
What struck me from my conversation with Wilson and other executives was the way AI has altered their thinking on how to anticipate future technologies that are on the horizon.
Wilson was careful not to imply quantum is right around the bend. It's not quite, "here comes AI 2.0," he said, adding the technology is "nowhere close to the usability" of AI.
Wilson said he spends around 30% of his time on technology, the majority of that is AI and quantum is still only a small sliver. But it's an important sliver.
"It will work. Will it be as effective as everybody wants? I don't know. But if it's going to be available, then I need to start thinking about it coming even before I know exactly when it's going to get there."
His final message to his peers? "If you had known AI was going to be as powerful as it is today, seven years ago, would you have done something differently with your data and your technology architecture to be ready for how powerful it is today? I think the answer for everybody will be yes."
On Our Radar
-- OpenAI Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser is stepping down less than a year into the role, making her the latest senior executive to depart following the exits of former Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap and Fidji Simo, once OpenAI's second in command. The WSJ reports that she will be succeeded by Dali Rajic, most recently the president and chief operating officer of cybersecurity company Wiz. Bloomberg reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate is on track to exceed $40 billion, roughly double its end-of-2025 pace. Rival Anthropic reported a $47 billion run rate in May.
-- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's wife, Cami Clark, is one of the most influential voices shaping the decisions of an executive at the forefront of the AI industry, and yet there are are scant details about her online -- and efforts have been made to remove references to her, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis and a person familiar with the matter. Clark, who started what she called a 'revolutionary porn company' where she sought investment from Jeffrey Epstein -- now keeps a low profile, but remains an important figure in Silicon Valley.
-- Shares of Workday surged as much as 30% Thursday on a Reuters report that private-equity firm Silver Lake was in talks to acquire the human-resources software company.
-- Flock Safety is adding safeguards to its AI-enabled surveillance products to address potential abuse by law enforcement. The move follows months of backlash over the system, which has already been associated with the arrests of several officers accused of abusing it. Flock will also institute a "proactive lockout" that suspends access when the system detects suspicious behavior.
-- In one of his last public appearances as Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook on Thursday toured a Texas factory with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, showing off a new manufacturing school and assembly line that later this year will start producing Mac Mini computers. Most of Apple's supply chain remains overseas, but the idea behind the manufacturing school is to share some of Apple's expertise with small- and midsize businesses in the U.S.
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