OPINION: A new day for quantum in New Mexico

Change is coming to Downtown Albuquerque this fall.

Just blocks away from City Hall and steps from the railroad tracks, a burst of activity will soon fill a neighborhood I like to call the Innovation District. Soon, the six-block corridor between Lomas, Broadway, Central and Second will house one of the nation’s most important quantum hubs in the world. There, a group of quantum founders, scientists and researchers will turn quantum science into startups and set a new standard for how the United States innovates at the frontier of technology.

This month, Roadrunner Venture Studios and our coalition of funders, quantum startups, universities and national laboratories won a $25 million state grant administered by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. The grant is the centerpiece of a bold vision for New Mexico put forth by the EDD: Building a world-class quantum campus in the heart of Albuquerque will allow us to create a healthy share of the more than $1 trillion in quantum value expected over the next decade.

Soon, new algorithms developed in Albuquerque labs for tasks like discovering pharmaceuticals or optimizing manufacturing systems will run across cloud-based quantum computers. In super-cold refrigerators kept just above absolute zero — colder than outer space— founders with unique ideas for superconducting qubits will test solution after solution. And on intersecting fiber-optic cables crisscrossing Downtown, quantum-immune encryption methods will be developed to keep American data safe for decades to come.

New Mexico now has a plan to win the high-stakes global race for quantum. Roadrunner will help jump-start that Albuquerque-based quantum blueprint in three ways: by finding exceptional people, forging breakthrough companies and fueling the second wave of great American quantum ventures for global scale.

Technology hubs are only as strong as their people.

We are starting our work by developing a quantum Founders-in-Residence program that will be completely focused on finding, developing and launching incredible startup leaders. We are fortunate to enjoy a healthy advantage when it comes to quantum talent in New Mexico. Not only does this state hold fast to its deep roots in American innovation, but the best quantum university program in the country is housed at the University of New Mexico — one of our most important coalition partners. Our talent program will be complemented with the launch of a lab-based initiative to employ and train quantum scientists from Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories to build a bridge from lab to market.

Second, we will make New Mexico the most attractive place in the country for quantum startups to build and expand. Roadrunner is launching a dedicated program to recruit existing quantum and quantum-adjacent companies from across the United States and help them establish a presence here.

Already, three of the nation’s most promising quantum ventures — Qunnect, QuEra and Maybell — have chosen to be among the latest quantum companies to set up operations in New Mexico. By offering access to world-class labs, state-backed support and a growing coalition of national labs, universities and investors, we will provide these companies with the resources they need to accelerate growth.

Our goal is to ensure that when a promising quantum founder anywhere in the country thinks about where to scale, New Mexico is at the top of their list.

To further that goal, we will forge new quantum infrastructure to support all the innovation we will churn out at the studio. We have organized a coalition around the studio to create state-of-the art facilities and cross-modality capabilities. Over the next few months, we will begin explaining all the ways our new partners will build a New Mexico-specific platform for quantum.

These facilities will immediately catapult our state into the same stratosphere as other, established quantum hubs like Illinois, Maryland and Colorado.

Finally, to fuel these companies we have gathered a network of quantum-aligned venture funds ready to co-build new companies and invest in them as they continue to scale. Our first group of funds — most of whom were attracted to New Mexico by both its natural advantages as a quantum hub as well as the vision of the New Mexico State Investment Council — will bring nearly $6 billion in assets under management and deep quantum knowledge to New Mexico to function alongside the studio’s company creation team.

All of this together coalesces into a company creation flywheel. This work will ensure that quantum companies will continue to be born, thrive and scale here in New Mexico for decades to come. The long-term impact of our studio’s quantum work will be measured not only in dollars and jobs, but in shaping the future of how and where quantum technology is built. This effort is intended to ensure the next billion-dollar deep-tech companies emerge out of cities across New Mexico.

New Mexico has long lived in the public imagination. It’s a place that has led America in the most important times with the most critical innovations — a fulcrum for national endeavor. This is a pivotal moment for America when it comes to technologies like quantum, and we intend to win that international race right here in Albuquerque.

Adam Hammer is the co-founder and CEO of Roadrunner Venture Studios.