THE PROBLEM: With decades of experience leading pioneering research in quantum technologies for economic and national security applications, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) recognized an opportunity to leverage its expertise to strengthen New Mexico’s quantum ecosystem and help expand economic and workforce development in the state. By cultivating innovative partnerships with other national labs, academic partners, state institutions, and private firms, Sandia aimed to create an ecosystem that would help the state become a world leader in quantum information science innovation.

THE SOLUTION: Sandia has taken part in four major partnerships programs to train the next generation of quantum experts, participate in one of the nation’s major quantum computing initiatives, and to build up the quantum economy and ecosystem.

The Elevate Quantum tech hub is a public-private partnership with over 140 members that leverages contracts, grants, CRADAs, and memorandums of understanding to accelerate innovation and support the commercialization of new technologies. Funded by a $127 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Elevate Quantum is the only grant-funded quantum tech hub in the country.

New Mexico has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — only the third state to do so — to participate in DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), a major initiative to develop practical quantum computers. Through Strategic Partnership Program contracts and CRADAs, Sandia and its partners are laying the groundwork for the state’s quantum computer industry.

Sandia is teaming with a coalition led by Roadrunner Venture Studios to establish and operate Quantum Venture Studio, an innovation hub with its own dedicated investment arm. The studio received a $25 million grant from the Technology and Innovation Office at the New Mexico Economic Development Department to support startup companies seeking to collaborate with national labs.

Sandia partnered with Central New Mexico Community College to establish Quantum Leadership and Learning (QuLL), the nation’s first technician training program of its kind. By addressing workforce shortages in the quantum industry, QuLL is striving to position New Mexico as a key player in future quantum industry growth, particularly in manufacturing and system maintenance.

THE TECH TRANSFER MECHANISM: The leadership of Sandia’s business development and T2 offices made it possible for Sandia to help build and participate in the state’s quantum information science consortium, which has spurred high tech business growth, workforce training, and economic investment in the state. In turn, Sandia has benefited from participating in the consortium by obtaining large-scale grants, increasing T2 via CRADAs and memorandums of understanding, and building new capabilities for licensing and transferring technology and know-how to industry partners.

THE IMPACT: Thanks to the Quantum Venture Studio program and grants provided to startups and relocating companies, five quantum companies have moved to New Mexico. Over the next four years, the memorandum of agreement with DARPA’s QBI program could inject up to $120 million in funding to the state’s universities, private-sector innovators, and national laboratories. The funding can be used to expand research, engineering, and testing efforts in support of QBI’s mission to develop a utility-scale quantum computer by 2033. Furthermore, QuLL’s inaugural cohort completed the course in December 2025, and the program secured about $6 million to help launch its own dedicated lab. At the same time, a high school outreach program, QCaMP, has engaged more than 75 high school educators and 85 students across the state — laying the foundation for the next generation of quantum innovators.