OPINION: Building the quantum economy

As your mayor, I’ve worked on a wide range of economic development initiatives, some very impactful — like bringing Netflix to Albuquerque — and others focused on local small businesses, and others that haven’t panned out like Orion and Universal Hydrogen. Today, I’m compelled to share with you something we are on the cusp of that is like nothing we have embarked on in 50 years: It’s bold, futuristic, and very real.

In the 20th century, a handful of transformative technologies reshaped our world. The microchip powered the digital age. The internal combustion engine unlocked mass mobility. Nuclear energy created both immense promise and immense peril. Each of these breakthroughs was more than an industry — they were foundational technologies, enabling entirely new sectors, companies and ways of life. New Mexico was a critical part of one leap, and a half century later, the next such leap can also be ours: quantum computing. Albuquerque is uniquely positioned to be its national capital.

Economic development strategies often focus on specific industries: solar, aerospace, biotechnology or film. Albuquerque has played that game before. These bets were smart, and they created jobs. But none were transformational at the scale we saw in the post–World War II era, when Sandia National Laboratories sparked a population and economic boom that still defines the growth of our modern city.

The labs succeeded because they brought not just a product, but a platform — nuclear technology — that powered decades of innovation. Similarly, Silicon Valley’s — named after the silicon-based semiconductors made there — rise was not just about “tech” companies; it was built on semiconductors, a foundational technology that powered everything from computers to smartphones to the software that runs both.

Quantum computing is that kind of technology, as a source technology. It won’t just be an industry; it will be the engine inside countless industries — artificial intelligence, medicine, finance, logistics, national security and more.

To understand quantum’s potential, imagine the difference between a light switch and a dimmer. Classic computers are light switches: on (1) or off (0). Quantum computers are dimmers: their quantum bits, or qubits, can be 1, 0, or a mix of both at once. This concept allows quantum computers to process problems that would take today’s supercomputers millennia, all at a fraction of the energy requirements of traditional computing and storage.

That power will drive breakthroughs across the economy. In medicine, quantum algorithms could model molecular interactions to develop new drugs faster and more accurately. In energy, it could optimize everything from grid efficiency to battery chemistry. And in AI, quantum will be decisive. The most powerful AI models of the future will require computing power that only quantum can deliver. Whoever wins the race in quantum will win the race in AI.

Quantum computing is not just about vision; for us, it’s also a “second act” leveraging much that is already “homegrown,” both unique capability and a rare cross collaborative environment.

1. World-class talent: Thanks to Sandia and the University of New Mexico, our city already has one of the highest concentrations of quantum scientists in the country. Many of the people who will build the quantum future already live and work here.

2. Geographic stability: Quantum requires highly stable environments like ours — free from the disruptions of earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters.

3. Workforce pathways and partnership: Programs like QCaMP that have already introduced quantum to hundreds of students across the city; to efforts like the Quantum Lab where Central New Mexico Community College is launching a first-of-its-kind quantum technician program; to the historic quantum programs at UNM.

4. Convening power: This week, Albuquerque is hosting one of the largest gatherings of quantum leaders in the nation. This is not just a conference; it’s a coming out party for a dozen or so organizations already building their business here.

We can keep chasing industries that come and go. Or we can build what powers them all. If we go all in on quantum now, we will not only participate in history — we will shape it. And decades from now, when people talk about where the quantum revolution began, they won’t just talk about Silicon Valley or Boston, they’ll talk about Albuquerque.