Updated
Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 17
Colorado Approves $14.7 Million for 225-Job Quantum Center as Boulder Battles Chicago
Updated
Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 17

Colorado Approves $14.7 Million for 225-Job Quantum Center as Boulder Battles Chicago

1 articles · Updated · The Denver Post · Jul 17

Summary

  • $14.7 million in state incentives was approved for "Project Laser," including $4.43 million in job-growth tax credits tied to 225 new jobs averaging $232,021 a year.
  • $9 million of the package can be paid as a direct cash refund because the startup may lack state tax liability, drawing on Colorado's CHIPS refundable credit program through fiscal 2028.
  • The company is expected to invest $158 million in an 80,000- to 100,000-square-foot R&D center, most likely in Boulder, though Chicago is also competing for the project.
  • Details in the filing point to Atom Computing, a Berkeley-based quantum firm that already has about 85 of its 130 employees in Boulder and recently raised $200 million.
  • The award extends Boulder's push to cement itself as a U.S. quantum hub after Google Quantum AI and IonQ both expanded there earlier this year.

Insights

In the quantum race between Boulder and Chicago, what will be the ultimate deciding factor for industry dominance?
As quantum tech accelerates, is the development of defenses against its code-breaking power keeping pace?
With quantum computers still in their infancy, how soon can they deliver on their world-changing promises?