After years of being described as a distant research effort, quantum technologies are entering an early deployment phase. That shift matters for states because many of the decisions that determine where economic value ultimately accrues are made well before technologies reach full industrial maturity.
This moment does not call for indiscriminate spending. Rather, it calls for thoughtful early engagement: workforce training, support for quantum-adjacent supply chain companies, strengthening universities and national laboratories, and integrating quantum systems with existing HPC and AI resources.
For state CIOs and IT directors, this is an infrastructure responsibility. Quantum integration touches data center planning, procurement, HPC vendor relationships and workforce development. The challenge is coordinating across agencies. It starts with your office.
Why should states invest when federal agencies, national labs and large companies are already deploying substantial capital? Because technology ecosystems form during formative periods, and quantum computing’s formative period is happening right now.
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology has installed a neutral-atom quantum computer integrated with over 2,000 NVIDIA GPUs. The UK National Quantum Computing Centre runs test beds. Multiple companies were selected for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
While foundational research happens at national labs, commercial ecosystems cluster geographically. Silicon Valley emerged from Stanford research intersecting with defense contracting, venture capital and specialized talent. Quantum computing is following the same pattern.
Having worked directly with state programs, federal agencies and commercial operators, I’ve seen both the progress underway and the opportunity to amplify it through coordination. The five-pillar framework that follows focuses on where early, low-regret investments can create durable economic advantage.
Leverage Federal Partnerships: The most leveraged component is positioning yourself to capture federal investment. The federal government is deploying billions through the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, DARPA’s quantum benchmarking initiatives, the National Quantum Initiative and defense-related programs.
If you’re serious about quantum, allocate significant matching funds designated for federal programs. States leading in this space have precommitted $20 million to $50 million. When a federal agency issues a solicitation for a quantum research center, you want to respond immediately. States with pre-authorized matching funds can do this; states without them scramble while competitors move forward.
Research Infrastructure That Actually Matters: Quantum processors aren’t standalone systems. The future of high-performance computing is hybrid: CPUs, GPUs and QPUs functioning as peers in data centers. An effective state test bed integrates quantum hardware with existing HPC infrastructure.
For iterative quantum-classical hybrid algorithms, data shuttles between quantum processors and classical accelerators thousands of times. Cloud access provides flexibility but introduces latency that degrades performance. Colocating quantum processors with GPU clusters eliminates that latency, enabling workflows impossible through remote access.
Understand infrastructure differences. Superconducting systems require dilution refrigerators near absolute zero, requiring massive, power-hungry equipment. Neutral-atom and trapped ion systems operate at room temperature externally, fitting into standard racks with significantly lower facility costs.
Build Institutional Capacity That Lasts: Research grants fund projects. Endowed faculty positions fund programs. When a grant ends, the project ends. An endowed chair creates a permanent institutional home for research that persists regardless of grant cycles.
Connect to Real Ecosystems: The quantum industry is coalescing around vendor ecosystems: companies providing hardware, software tools and go-to-market support. Engage with these ecosystems rather than building everything from scratch.
Pharmaceutical companies, financial institutions and logistics firms are actively exploring quantum applications. States that facilitate connections between local startups and enterprise partners open pathways to commercial customers otherwise inaccessible. If your state already contracts with Dell, NVIDIA or AWS for cloud and HPC services, those relationships are your on-ramp.
Grow the Right Workforce: The quantum computing industry needs more than Ph.D. researchers. You need technicians who maintain vacuum systems and laser optics. Engineers who design control electronics. Software developers who build applications bridging quantum and classical resources. Most critically, you need integration engineers who understand both quantum systems and HPC workflows.
Integration engineers are the most acute shortage. Developers who understand quantum algorithms exist. People who integrate them with HPC workflows are exceptionally scarce. States that train these bridging professionals will host the industry. Existing HPC center personnel can learn quantum specifics faster than quantum physicists can learn operational HPC management.
HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER
The five pillars form an interconnected system. Federal matching funds attract research programs that use test bed infrastructure at state universities. Those universities employ endowed faculty who train graduate students, some of whom launch startups hiring workers trained through workforce initiatives.
Isolate investments in any pillar and you’ll underperform. The system works as a system, or it fails. And the CIO’s office, which already sits at the intersection of infrastructure, procurement and vendor relationships, is the natural place to hold it together.
If you’re a state CIO or IT director, start by auditing your existing HPC infrastructure for quantum colocation options. Inventory quantum-adjacent skills in your IT workforce. Review procurement frameworks for research equipment exemptions. Then leverage existing vendor relationships. And brief your governor’s policy staff on the federal matching fund landscape now, before a solicitation drops.
For years, people described quantum computing as perpetually 10 years away. That characterization no longer reflects reality. Japan’s prime minister declared 2025 the “first year of quantum industrialization.” DARPA’s program is explicitly designed to determine whether quantum computing can achieve utility-scale operation. Quantum is moving from “one day” to “Day One.”
Apply a simple test: Are the vendors you’re considering producing peer-reviewed results or only press releases? Companies with deployed systems, published benchmarks and customers running production workloads are building the industry. Companies promising future breakthroughs are selling hope.
The geographic distribution of an industry locks in during its formative period and persists for decades. Quantum computing is in that period now. States that establish position during this window will benefit from clustering effects for generations.
Nathan (Nate) Gemelke is co-founder and chief technology strategist at QuEra Computing, where he leads the company’s technical vision and government engagement strategy.
