Quantinuum to start work on Albuquerque R&D facility in August

The world’s largest integrated quantum company will start renovations on its New Mexico facility next month.

Quantinuum, in the coming weeks, will start transforming a facility in northwestern Albuquerque into a research and development hub, said Jenni Strabley, vice president and general manager of compute products at Quantinuum.

It comes following the Colorado-based company’s January announcement that it was expanding into New Mexico. The company’s multi-year lease for its Albuquerque facility begins Friday, Strabley said. She declined to disclose the exact location, and Quantinuum has not yet specified when operations will begin.

The arrival of another major R&D facility is a win for New Mexico, especially as public and private officials have begun to brand the state as a quantum hotspot. Quantinuum is the first quantum bit, or qubit, builder to commit to the Southwest, Strabley said. The company works on advancing quantum computing through hardware and technology development, and has offices around the world.

The facility initially will focus on photonics controlling, or the test and measurement of photonic devices, Strabley said. Then, she said Quantinuum will add test beds, or miniature-scale quantum computers.

“We’re there to develop R&D for our hardware, but we also bring with us the connections to a full-stack quantum computing company, and I think that adds to the richness of our presence in New Mexico,” Strabley said.

Strabley declined to specify the amount of capital Quantinuum is pouring into the facility, though she said it’s a “significant investment.” Additionally, leasing rather than owning follows the company’s real estate strategy, though Strabley didn’t rule out owning property down the line.

Quantinuum aims to have seven employees working at the New Mexico facility by the end of the year, and the company has already filled about half of those spots, Strabley said. Hires will include local talent.

“There’s been a long- standing relationship with New Mexico, and this just builds on it. This is a chapter in strengthening those relationships,” Strabley said.