Dec. 10—There is a new state program that aims to boost quantum technologies throughout New Mexico.
The New Mexico Economic Development Department last week announced it has launched the New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award Pilot Program, which aims to grow and support the growth and relocation of quantum companies in or to New Mexico.
Improving quantum technologies could improve computing, pharmaceutical research and other fields. Albuquerque and New Mexico have a history of advancing the science at universities and national laboratories in the state.
“Through EDD’s Office of Strategy, Science and Technology the state is investing in partnerships to grow the quantum technology industry,” EDD Secretary-Designate Rob Black said. “With groundbreaking quantum work being done at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories and UNM’s nation-leading quantum physics program, New Mexico is poised to lead the nation in developing this critical technology.”
The grant program will give awards to early-stage companies that work in quantum technologies.
In 2023, EDD partnered with Colorado and the Elevate Quantum Consortium, which includes Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory, to create a qunatum information hub in the Mountain West region.
“Quantum technologies will be as transformative over the next 50 years as semiconductors were over the past half-century. New Mexico is already a global leader in pioneering quantum research, which forms the foundation of major commercialized technologies worldwide,” Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum CEO and Regional Innovation Officer, said. “Startups are the lifeblood of any entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially one as cutting-edge as quantum. That’s why the Quantum Technologies Award Pilot Program is such a critical down payment to support the world’s top quantum technology pioneers — the world’s largest companies of tomorrow — to ensure they can start and scale their businesses right here in New Mexico.”