By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -New Mexico, site of the world’s first atomic bomb tests, on Tuesday plans to invest $315 million in a bid to become a leader in another potentially era-defining technology: quantum computing.
Quantum computing, which leverages the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and sub-atomic scale, holds the promise of solving in minutes some problems that would take conventional computers thousands of years.
Companies such as Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and IBM, along with dozens of well-funded startups, are working on making the technology commercially viable.
New Mexico will invest $315 million in private companies, fabrication facilities and other infrastructure such as a quantum network to connect labs and businesses.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who plans to announce the effort on Tuesday, told Reuters in an interview that New Mexico has the advantages of abundant scientific talent and affordable land and energy. With a population of about 2 million, the state hosts two U.S. National Labs and a U.S. Air Force Research Lab branch.
As part of the $315 million, the state will provide $185 million from its sovereign wealth fund for private venture capital firms to invest in quantum businesses with a presence in New Mexico.
There will also be $60 million each from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the state to vet and help position those projects for commercial viability.
Many of those projects, such as a network to link quantum equipment around a central hub in Albuquerque, will come online by the middle of next year.
“We don’t intend to be reckless,” Lujan Grisham told Reuters, “but we intend to be fast.”
About $25 million of funding from the state will also go toward trying to pair scientists with entrepreneurs who can help turn scientific discoveries into business ideas.
“The most important ingredient is a founding team, and that’s not always the scientist,” said Adam Hammer, CEO of Roadrunner Venture Studios, which will lead that effort.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
