Maryland to open new quantum center

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced this week the state will open a new quantum research center as part of its broader push to embrace the technology.

The state will partner with the University of Maryland Economic Corporation and Microsoft on the project, which will be in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District on the east of its flagship campus in College Park.

Microsoft’s quantum technology will be accessible at the center, to promote collaboration between government agencies, quantum companies and academia in developing hardware and software. The program also hopes to attract outside quantum experts to the state so they can collaborate within Maryland’s tech ecosystem, as well as with local students and researchers. The state and its partners made the announcement during the Quantum World Congress this week in Fairfax County, Virginia.

“Maryland is making big bets on the future to grow our economy and drive innovation. Quantum is at the center of that strategy,” Moore said in a statement. “We are honored to partner with Microsoft in this effort, as we work together to create jobs, spark discovery, and stimulate growth. And together, we will continue to make Maryland the best place in the world to change the world.”

This new center comes as state and local governments continue to try to mark themselves as leaders on quantum technology. Maryland has tried to stay ahead of the game for several years, and earlier this year pledged to invest $1 billion in the technology over the next five years. Since taking office, Moore has sought to keep up the momentum with his Capital of Quantum Initiative, which officials said was a key driver behind this announcement. That initiative is a public-private partnership between the state, the University of Maryland and the private sector, and included a $52.5 million investment from the state’s FY 2026 budget.

“We are excited to be part of Governor Moore’s vision for the Capital of Quantum through the opening of this unique, partner-focused quantum center in Maryland’s Discovery District,” Microsoft Executive Vice President Jason Zander said in a statement released by Moore’s office. “Together, we can advance quantum technology and accelerate U.S. leadership in science and innovation. This partnership exemplifies what is possible when state and federal leaders, academia, and industry unite for a common purpose.”

The state has also looked to take advantage of the federal government’s increased interest in quantum technology. In April, Moore signed a memorandum of agreement between the state and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Department of Defense’s research and development arm, to establish the “Capital Quantum Benchmarking Hub” at the university.

That signing formalized a partnership to test and evaluate quantum information science in the state and unlocked up to $100 million in federal funds to match the state’s quantum computing investments. Some of those funds will be used to invest in Microsoft’s new quantum center. Fostering those partnerships will be crucial in that effort and others, company officials said.

“The lab will ensure that we work together with partners in industry, academia, and government to design, build, and deploy quantum computers that will shape the future,” Dr. Charles Tahan, a Microsoft Quantum partner, wrote in a blog post. “It is more than an infrastructure investment. It is a shared environment that will uplift partners at all layers of the computing stack, and also encourage joint research, outreach, and ecosystem-building efforts.”

It is not just Maryland that is looking to mark itself as a major player in the quantum space. Also at the Quantum World Congress, EPB, the electric utility in Chattanooga, Tennessee that is pushing hard on the technology, announced it has added hybrid computing capabilities via a partnership with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Under the partnership, an NVIDIA DGX system has been installed at EPB’s Quantum Center, and means that classical supercomputing will be available at the same facility alongside cutting-edge, commercially available quantum technology platforms. The groups will work together to find ways to optimize power grids to identify algorithms, methodologies and best practices for enhancing power distribution across the U.S.

While it may be tempting for jurisdictions to try to be the only leader on quantum, multiple officials have said that is unlikely and instead that each area will have something different to contribute on the journey.

“I think part of it is that there's so much work to be done over the next five years to make it real, to make it materialize,” Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County, Virginia Economic Development Authority, said in a previous interview. “There's so much research work, and there are only a few people in the world that are involved in this… We're more powerful together. We have many strengths. We complement each other."