Searching for applications of quantum computing in industry

Optimization has often been praised as a key application domain for quantum devices and, in particular, quantum annealing machines. In this presentation I will share some lessons learned from working with industrial-scale optimization use cases. Examples include key problems in manufacturing and logistics (e.g., vehicle routing and scheduling), financial services (e.g., portfolio optimization), and health care and life sciences (e.g., drug similarity, clinical trial development). I will argue that most optimization problems of interest are either best tackled with classical optimization techniques or hybrid methods, unless big advances are made in the mapping and embedding of industrial-scale use cases or large strides are taken in the development of quantum optimization techniques and machines.