Quantum and the Important Role of the U.S. Government

In addition to providing financial support, the government plays other important roles in technology development, and by putting the right policies in place the U.S. government can create an environment to attract investment and talent and protect America’s national security and economic interests.  

• Coordinating Federal Agencies: Ensuring that agencies like the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) align their efforts and leverage their expertise. This coordination is critical in ensuring that resources are properly managed, work isn’t duplicated, and all agencies with an interest in quantum technologies are involved in the development of the quantum policy that will impact their work. Without close coordination, the U.S. risks delayed implementation of new technologies and increased danger to public safety, as was demonstrated when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) went toe to toe with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over the deployment of 5G technologies, resulting in threats to ground flights in the U.S. because of the risks posed to air travel.  

• Promoting Public-Private Partnerships: Participating in and encouraging partnerships among the public sector, private companies, and academia through programs like the National Quantum Information Science Research Centers or the Quantum Economic Development Consortium. These partnerships take advantage of the strengths, resources, and expertise of government agencies and private companies to more quickly and efficiently achieve goals that neither sector could easily accomplish alone. For the quantum industry these partnerships are particularly important because of the complexity of the technology and the significant resources, financial or otherwise, required to advance quantum technologies.  

• International Collaboration: Negotiating agreements between nations, like the US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal and similar deals announced with Japan and South Korea, to create more formal channels for information and resource sharing, which are designed to increase the pace at which these technologies can be deployed. Expertise in quantum is spread across the globe, as are the resources required to develop the technology, and cross-border collaboration efforts can increase the speed and efficiency of R&D efforts through pooling of talent, research, financial resources, and materials that no one country can source on their own.  

• Protecting National Security: Researching and testing quantum technologies through programs like DARPA and the Defense Innovation Unit, and shoring up cyber defenses to ensure the U.S. can defend and protect against foreign adversaries and other threat actors. It is critical that as adversarial nations such as China push to develop their own quantum capabilities, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies are on the frontlines in deploying quantum technologies to protect national security and maintain maximum battlefield readiness.  

• Setting Standards and Providing Guidance: Developing standards for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to guide the secure migration of government and private sector systems. Ensuring continued protection of encrypted information and eliminating vulnerabilities of critical systems and networks is a top priority for both governments and private companies. The creation of standardized protocols allows for consistency across industries, ensures continued interoperability, and minimizes costs for companies to integrate protections into their networks.  

• Cultivating the Workforce: Investing in and providing resources for more advanced STEM education and training programs, as well as apprenticeship and upskilling programs, to build the necessary talent pipeline for the quantum age. While the quantum industry is currently heavily comprised of those with advanced degrees in fields such as physics, engineering, and computer science, the growth of the quantum industry will also require professionals in business development, sales, education, product management, and beyond.  Recent analysis projected that quantum computing alone will create an estimated 840,000 new jobs by 2035, with 250,000 by 2030, but a report by McKinsey found that there is only “one qualified quantum candidate available for every three quantum job openings.”