The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) has launched the New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award Pilot Program, a new state grant focused on supporting the growth or relocation of quantum technology companies in or to New Mexico, EDD Secretary-Designate Rob Black announced.
The New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award (NMQTA) Pilot Program is a competitive state-funded grant that awards non-dilutive funds to early-stage companies working in quantum technologies that are located in New Mexico or establishing a presence in New Mexico.
Earlier this year, Albuquerque was touted as a potential next hotbed for quantum technology by a leading quantum industry publication.
“Through EDD’s Office of Strategy, Science and Technology the state is investing in partnerships to grow the quantum technology industry,” Secretary-Designate 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.”
In 2023, EDD formally partnered with Colorado and the Elevate Quantum consortium, including Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico, and Central New Mexico Community College, for a proposal to the EDA Tech Hubs program on the quantum information technologies industry in the Mountain West region. This proposal won both Tech Hubs designation and implementation funding, making this region the first and only major place-based investment the U.S. government has made in the quantum industry. This success is a testament to the region’s strength and potential, providing more Nobel Prizes, more quantum-focused organizations, and more jobs in quantum technologies than any other area in the country.
The state also supports the New Mexico Quantum Moonshot, a proposal to the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program focused on advancing dual-use quantum technologies that address national security and civilian needs in clean energy, materials science, and communications.
“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.”
Applications for the NMQTA Pilot Program are now open and will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 30, 2025. Eligible proposals will demonstrate the potential and plan to develop and grow business in the quantum technology field, including technologies that rely on quantum superposition or quantum entanglement, or that enable those technologies. Applicants must be for-profit technology businesses that agree to maintain a business presence in New Mexico for a minimum of two years. Up to five awards will be made of $100,000 each.
Potential applicants should review the NMQTA Pilot Program grant manual on the EDD website at EDD.newmexico.gov/Quantum-Grants.
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