Helmut Katzgraber (Amazon): Why Quantum Projects Must Start With a Business Problem

Key takeaways

• The Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab starts every engagement by identifying a concrete business problem before discussing which quantum approach might apply, rather than starting from the technology.
• Projects with BMW and Goldman Sachs succeeded because both companies had teams willing to reformulate their existing problems into a form that could be tested against quantum and quantum-inspired methods.
• Helmut advises customers to treat current quantum work as building internal expertise and problem formulations now, so they are ready to act quickly once hardware crosses a useful threshold.
• Realistic expectations matter more than hype: many early wins come from classical or hybrid techniques developed alongside the quantum exploration, not from a quantum computer outperforming classical methods today.