Quantum computers use qubits that exploit quantum superposition and entanglement to perform complex … [+]
Nestled among the vast plains and mesas of the Mountain West and in the shadow of the great Rockies, the future is being created. Colorado has emerged as the global epicenter of the quantum revolution—the next generation of computing power that has the potential to leave today’s technology in the dust.
Recent federal funding to the tune of $40 million, state tax credits of $74 million, and an estimated $1 billion in private capital, codifies the region’s designation as a quantum technology hub. Local leaders expect an economic windfall, creating new businesses and thousands of jobs within just a few years.
More boldly, Colorado may be positioned to help lead the greatest technological leap humankind has ever seen.
The Quantum Computing Revolution
Today’s computer processing results from our ability to manipulate electricity. Called classical computing, devices from our smartphones to laptops are powered by microchips that route electrons and spit out one and zeros. These are converted to information that ultimately gives us the tools of the digital age.
However, rather than electricity, quantum technology leverages the physics of the very small, the behavior of particles and photons, in order to produce information at speeds that have the potential to be hundreds, thousands, and perhaps millions of times faster than our classical systems today.
Quantum technologies, particularly coupled with artificial intelligence, promise to help solve big challenges from climate change to curing all forms of cancer. We’re not there yet, but steady progress is being made, including some notable leaps in just the last few years. Practical, albeit narrow applications of quantum computing are in use today, for example, in helping with optimization in financial services and acceleration in drug discovery.
The race to develop general quantum computing is well underway, and notable organizations are making big bets on it including IBM, Microsoft, and Google. Leading universities, as well as relative newcomers such as Quantinuum and IonQ, are engaged too, reflecting an acknowledgement of the remarkable results that quantum may deliver.
The promise of quantum technologies is tantalizingly close, but the hurdles ahead are not insignificant.
Colorado Becomes Quantum’s Epicenter
While Silicon Valley continues to dominate in digital innovation, it’s less appreciated that Colorado has become a leader in quantum technologies. There are 3000 people working in quantum-related jobs in Colorado, more than anywhere else in the world, and the region is home to four Nobel prize-winning quantum scientists.
Snow covered Longs Peak, part of the Rocky Mountains stands tall in the background with green trees … [+]
Like Silicon Valley, Colorado’s ascension to quantum leadership has a lot to do with federal investments, national security considerations, and some luck. Specifically, quantum research blossomed with the creation of a center for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, as well as the Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory in nearby New Mexico.
In addition, JILA, formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, has been a leader in quantum research commercialization in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder. The region also hosts more than 40 other federally funded research labs.
Elevate Quantum Secures Colorado’s Top Spot
Corban Tillermann-Dick, founder and CEO of Maybell Quantum, a leader in advanced cryogenics—the essential refrigeration technology necessary for quantum computers—found himself, by surprise, in an historic position to reinforce Colorado’s quantum leadership position.
Building on the state’s head start and with encouragement and support from government officials, Tillermann-Dick co-founded Elevate Quantum, a non-profit coalition of over 120 organizations across the Rocky Mountain West including New Mexico and Wyoming. Its goal was to compete and win funds from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 in order to make the region an officially designated quantum innovation hub.
The Elevate Quantum team, alongside intense advocacy from Colorado Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, U.S. Representative Joe Neguse, Governor Polis, and other officials, won the designation as one of only two official quantum tech hubs in the country as well as $40.5 million of federal funding. An additional $74 million in state funding was unlocked as a result, and an estimated $1 billion of private capital investment would be supported by government loan guarantees.
Colorado Governor Polis believes that his state is American’s bet on quantum and that the federal funds and tech hub designation will amplify their lead and build on momentum. The Governor is excited by the technology and thinks it will be revolutionary, positively impacting all types of businesses and challenges across the nation.
Jared Polis, governor of Colorado. Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/ Bloomberg
Funds are tied to specific outcomes that include the creation of 10,000 new jobs, training 30,000 new workers, and helping to build 50 startups over a 10-year period. Tillermann-Dick says the federal and state money will be used by Elevate Quantum to build out the region’s quantum ecosystem which will include an open access facility where entrepreneurs can experiment and build ideas, a commercial fabrication facility for photonic integrated circuits, and for workforce development.
A Quantum Future Is Coming
Tillermann-Dick believes quantum represents the most important technological revolution of the next 100 years. He also thinks Colorado can play another type of role too. Being given the responsibility to grow an ecosystem, and learning from the failures of others, means there’s a chance to create a playing field that is more inclusive, diverse, and just. For instance, the needs of quantum infrastructure won’t be limited to researchers and physicists, but rather will require all sorts of skills including welders, machinists, and technicians. Governor Polis agrees and believes that Colorado has the talent and can attract new and diverse talent from around the country.
The race to develop general quantum computing is on and it’s considered by the federal government as a national imperative. The 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act and the National Quantum Initiative, recently enhanced further by President Biden directives, support the acceleration of quantum research and development for the economic and national security of the United States.
Colorado officials are all in and they recognize their leadership in quantum technologies will be good for the people and economy of the state, and ultimately the entire nation.
