New Mexico, DARPA join on funding quantum computing research
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday announced the state is partnering with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Department’s research and development agency, to advance quantum computing technology.
The state and DARPA will each spend up to $120 million over four years on research, development and testing through the Quantum Frontier Project, a new initiative to make large-scale quantum computers a reality by 2033. According to a press release, New Mexico aims to use state universities, tech companies and its national laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos.
“Quantum computing may prove to be the most consequential technology of this century for national security and breakthrough innovations,” Lujan Grisham said in the release. “New Mexico, having once pioneered applied physics, is excited to partner with DARPA on the [Quantum Benchmarking Initiative] program to stay at the forefront of frontier technology and bring our world-class research, development, and entrepreneurial ecosystem into the fold.”
New Mexico joins several other states spending on quantum computing research, including Illinois, which in January announced $7 million for an incubator that includes quantum computing work. Maryland in January launched the Capital of Quantum Initiative, a partnership between the public and private sector aimed at attracting more than $1 billion for quantum computing research. The South Carolina legislature in 2023 allocated $15 million to advance the technology.
According to the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, one of the biggest threats of quantum computing is the risks that a breakthrough poses to cryptography and cybersecurity more generally. The agency established the Post-Quantum Cryptography Initiative in 2022 to alert government agencies of the security risks posed by quantum computing.
