Shimmy Says: Quantum, Robots and AI — The Real State of Play
Quantum, robots and AI are the three most over-promised technologies in tech — and in this Shimmy Says, Alan Shimel walks through the real state of play. Alan breaks down two Techstrong Special Reports (quantum computing and humanoid robots) and separates what has actually shipped from what is still under construction — real humanoid deployments at GXO, BMW and UBTech, $12.6 billion poured into quantum startups, post-quantum cryptography already here, and AI quietly becoming the connecting tissue between all of it.
Humanoid robots: the bodies are arriving
Roughly 13,318 humanoids shipped globally in 2025. Real deployments at GXO, BMW, Longcheer and UBTech. China is scaling manufacturing while the U.S. concentrates investment and AI intelligence. Most robots remain narrow, supervised and dependent on humans for exceptions. The framework Alan uses: body, intelligence, deployment. The question: can the robot deliver useful work at a lower cost per productive hour?
Quantum: the market arrived before the machine
A $550 million market in 2025, about $300 million from enterprise customers, and $12.6 billion invested in quantum startups. Real technical progress, but no broadly useful fault-tolerant quantum computer yet. Quantum supremacy, error suppression, logical qubits, fault tolerance and commercially useful quantum advantage are not the same milestone. One part has already arrived — post-quantum cryptography — and enterprises need to inventory vulnerable encryption now.
AI is the connecting tissue for quantum, robots and AI
AI gives software the ability to understand, generate, plan and decide. Robotics gives that intelligence a body. AI is already helping quantum systems with calibration, control, simulation and error correction. The near-term shape is not a “quantum robot” — it is a classical AI system that knows when to call a quantum resource, then sends instructions to a robot or industrial system.
The tests that matter
Funding is not utility. Demonstrations are not deployments. AI must perform reliably without constant human correction. Robots must be paid repeatedly for productive work. Quantum must beat the best classical alternative after every cost is included. The future arrives when intelligence, computation and physical action work together reliably enough for people to depend on them. That’s what Shimmy says.
