State pledges $74M to boost quantum industry if Colorado wins tech-hub designation
DENVER — The recently introduced, bipartisan Colorado Quantum Tax Credit bill would, if passed, provide $74 million in state support for Colorado quantum industry.
The funding, however, is contingent upon Colorado — and its partners in New Mexico and Wyoming — winning designation and a “tech hub” for quantum technology research and commercialization from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Elevate Quantum, a consortium of about 70 stakeholders in the quantum space who represent industry, academia, capital and laboratories in the Mountain West, is competing for the tech hub designation with a similarly constituted group from the Chicago area of Illinois. Should the U.S. Department of Commerce choose Elevate Quantum, Colorado quantum companies and labs would have immediate access to $70 million in federal support, with millions more likely available in the coming years.
SPONSORED CONTENT
The many benefits of simple, coordinated healthcare
Kaiser Permanente combines health care and coverage in one connected system to maximize employee health and minimize employer costs.
According to Gov. Jared Polis’ office, the Quantum Tax Credit bill would provide “$44 million in refundable state income tax credits to help fund the development of a shared quantum research facility for private sector and academic research collaboration, innovation, and commercialization.”
Additionally, the measure would earmark “$30 million for a quantum industry loan loss reserve to create greater access to capital for small and medium Colorado quantum computing companies that would otherwise have limited access to capital,” Polis’ office said.
Quantum theory attempts to explain the behavior of matter at atomic and subatomic levels. Quantum computers take advantage of special properties of quantum systems such as superposition that give them processing power that’s exponentially more potent than traditional computers.
Applications of quantum science, many of which are being pioneered in Colorado, could revolutionize the way humans discover new drug therapies, map the cosmos, protect sensitive data, combat climate change and maybe even discover new forms of life.
“History has shown that sustaining global key technology leadership doesn’t happen by mistake. It comes from deliberate and bold investments in the tools of innovation engines. The investments by the State of Colorado announced today follow in the footsteps of the most defining and forward-looking technology investments of our time,” Elevate Quantum CEO Zachary Yerushalmi said in a prepared statement. “These policies will ensure that Colorado and the US will continue to lead the quantum economy for decades to come. Elevate Quantum and the more than 80 quantum-focused organizations it helps represent are proud to be a founding part of that story.”
