The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the state of New Mexico’s Economic Development Department have signed an agreement to work on a project to advance quantum computing technology as part of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, or QBI.
DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
Launched in July 2024, QBI intends to determine the possibility of creating an industrially useful computer much faster than traditional predictions. The initiative seeks to verify and validate whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation by 2033.
“New Mexico is the latest state to enter into partnership on QBI, and we are eager to leverage new facilities and expertise as we test and evaluate claims from a number of quantum computing companies about their progress in building a useful quantum computer,” Joe Altepeter, QBI program manager at DARPA, said in a statement published Tuesday.
DARPA-New Mexico Quantum Frontier Project
Depending on the results achieved, DARPA and New Mexico have agreed to contribute up to $60 million each over four years to fund efforts that support the Quantum Frontier Project and QBI.
“World-class national laboratories in New Mexico, such as Sandia and Los Alamos, are already a part of QBI’s independent verification and validation team, and we look forward through the Quantum Frontier Project to tapping into more of the state’s quantum R&D and testing infrastructure to help us determine whether quantum computers will work or not,” added Altepeter.
DARPA signed similar QBI agreements with other states, including Maryland and Illinois.
“New Mexico, having once pioneered applied physics, is excited to partner with DARPA on the QBI program to stay at the forefront of frontier technology and bring our world-class research, development, and entrepreneurial ecosystem into the fold,” said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
