Quantum Could Replicate AI’s Breakout Moment Across Government, Officials Say

The White House is working with industry partners, international allies and federal agencies to accelerate commercial applications in quantum information science and technology (QIST), secure the quantum supply chain and expand the workforce, according to CTO Ethan Klein.

“We’re beyond just kind of funding the basic research, we’ll continue doing that, but we need to advance toward commercialization and applications. We need to identify and incentivize more private capital to flow in,” Klein said last week at the QED-C Quantum Summit in Washington, D.C.

Expanding Government’s Quantum Footprint

The effort aligns with the administration’s push to establish global leadership in QIST. A recently released report by The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) found a 310% increase — totaling $12.7 billion — in new government funding commitments in 2025 compared to 2024.

The White House also launched the Genesis Mission in November 2025, led by the Energy Department and its 17 national labs, to create a national discovery platform that connects supercomputers, AI systems and quantum technologies into an integrated infrastructure.

Energy Department Undersecretary for Science Darío Gil said QIST’s impact on national security, energy production and scientific discovery will mirror AI’s current impact in the coming years.

“[With the Genesis Mission] we ultimately seek to double the productivity and impact of America’s trillion-dollar-a-year R&D industry and ecosystem,” Gil said. “We want to both see that the technology reaches its objectives and that we get to use it to drive breakthrough science that can transform the opportunities for emissions in terms of energy discovery science.”

Klein said public-private partnerships will expand industry access to federal R&D infrastructure and help guide innovation, strengthening the nation’s quantum industrial base.

“Quantum is a driver of economic growth, of our national security, and that’s why it’s so important to invest in it. From growing companies, expanding overseas, building supply chains here in the United States, and delivering breakthroughs and training of the quantum workforce,” said Klein.

Building the Quantum Workforce

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is leading workforce and education development through its Regional Innovation Engines Program. In September 2025, the agency announced 15 finalists advancing to the next stage of the program’s second competition, including a quantum technologies finalist.

Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Erwin Gianchandi said that the government and industry need to galvanize the next generation of quantum talent through stronger partnerships and capitalizing on existing ecosystems.

“We need to acknowledge that quantum needs an ecosystem approach to talent creation and nurturing. You need to understand the needs of the employers and, at the end of the day, be able to drive the instructional and experiential opportunities for our students,” said Gianchandi.