Inside the Trump administration’s $2 billion push to build the world’s first useful quantum computer

Fast Company · 3 hrs ago · 19 views

The White House Quantum Summit brought together dozens of quantum policy officials and industry leaders last month, representing a rare glimmer of bipartisanship as the U.S. hustles to become the first nation to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer.  The summit, which convened on July 7 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing, lasted over two hours and covered everything from supply chain resilience to how the U.S. can meet the deadline the Trump administration recently laid out for delivering a quantum supercomputer by 2028. While experimental quantum computers already exist—IBM and other tech companies have built them—the world is rushing to build the first quantum computer that’s “industrially useful.” In other words, the race is on to build a quantum computer that solves problems that classical computers struggle to tackle quickly by using quantum mechanics.  A computer of that caliber does not exist yet, and 2028 is a tight deadline to build one for industrial use. It’s far more aggressive than the deadline spelled out in the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, a program from the Defense Department’s research arm that tracks the quantum computing sector, which has set a 2033 deadline for building out an “industrially useful computer.” “The challenge now is scaling the physics we’ve proven in the lab to industrial scale, building the domestic semiconductor ecosystem this industry will be built on, while making sure government moves as fast as the innovation,” says Gregg Bartlett, chief technology officer at GlobalFoundries, a leading semiconductor manufacturing company.  Bartlett, who attended the summit, adds that while the 2028 goal “is very challenging,” that’s also the point. “Even if we don’t fully hit it, the acceleration it forces will move the whole field forward.” Officials from the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Energy, as well as the National Science Foundation, all convened on a panel that was united on collective goals around quantum computing, summit attendees told Inc.  Darío Gil, who serves as the undersecretary for science in the U.S. Department of Energy, acknowledged some of the skepticism the industry holds in meeting the 2028 deadline, according to one attendee. However, Gil underscored his belief that it’s still possible to move quickly in delivering a quantum computer with hard work and close partnerships.  “What the industry saw in the room today was a Washington team that is very committed to the goals and the targets that they have set out so audaciously,” another summit attendee told Inc. Victor Peng, the CEO of quantum computing startup PsiQuantum, tells Inc. that “the sense of urgency in Washington around strengthening American leadership in quantum computing has never been greater.” PsiQuantum is seen as one of the leading companies that could cross the threshold of building the first industrially useful quantum computer. The Palo Alto, California-based startup broke ground on a Chicago facility last September that’s exclusively dedicated to this cause.  Investments in quantum startups hit $12.6 billion in 2025—6.3 times higher compared to 2024, by McKinsey & Company’s count in a research note the consulting firm published in June. And the government is forking out funds, too. The Department of Commerce in May announced plans to invest $2 billion across nine quantum-focused companies, including IBM and GlobalFoundries. How quickly those plans, announced via letters of intent, will materialize into government contracts remains to be seen. The next big milestone in the quantum computing race would see the sector transitioning out of the research lab and into practical use. Technology futurist Daniel Burrus tells Inc. that the question is how quickly quantum can make the transition. In his view, it would happen through hybrid computing—working in tandem with artificial intelligence.  “AI computing systems will handle most of the work, and quantum systems will be used for very hard problems today’s AI systems can’t solve,” Burrus says, mentioning sectors such as drug discovery, energy, and security.  —Melissa Angell Get 1 Smart Business Story delivered straight to your inbox when you subscribe to Inc.’s free daily newsletter. This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister website, Inc.com.  Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.