An Atom Computing worker engaged in work on a pc screen.
CNBC
This story is a component of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities which have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, firms and employees.
Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today’s machines can, ushering in a latest era of scientific discovery.
That is the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a world leader on this revolution.
Atom Computing relies in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company selected the city of Boulder for its latest $100 million facility: the region’s thriving ecosystem.
“The future looks really brilliant for us here. … We have built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,” Hays said in CNBC’s primetime special “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. “The incontrovertible fact that we have been able to do this in 18 months is pretty remarkable.”
In Denver, Maybell Quantum, one other key player in the industry, is constructing an excellent refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — greater than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.
Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick (left) and CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla stand in front of an excellent refrigerator that chills atoms to incredibly low temperatures which is crucial for constructing quantum computers.
CNBC
“It’s 10 millikelvin,” said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick. That equates to negative 441.67 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why so cold? The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate. The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that may disrupt a quantum chip’s delicate subatomic calculations.
Promise and potential
Identical to semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today’s complex web possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology.
“This technology goes to be as necessary to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the web or cellular technology. It’ll transform every thing from medicine to defense to agriculture,” he said.
The CEO said he envisions data centers stuffed with rows of quantum computers tackling the world’s most pressing problems.
“There’ll come a time not too far in the future … you’ll walk into an information center and there’ll be 1000’s of [quantum computers] lined up similar to you’ve gotten servers today, working on workloads from throughout the world to solve these critical problems,” he said.
Colorado’s race to develop into a quantum hub
Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the Eighties. It’s come a good distance since then. According to McKinsey, the 4 industries which can be poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.
Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 “Tech Hubs” in the United States. This designation is a component of a program to put money into regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.
Leading the charge to solidify Colorado’s position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of greater than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and native governments, federal labs and personal firms.
“The concept is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren’t Silicon Valleys today against the most vital technologies of our time,” said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado’s CEO.
Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to develop into one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.
“We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we’re fortunate to be chosen as one of three,” Yerushalmi explained. “That is where things really get hot … we’re competing for $70 million from the federal government.”
Only a handful of hubs will be chosen to receive the funding — and Yerushalmi says he’s optimistic of their probabilities, expecting a choice later this 12 months.
Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum’s potential, is upping the stakes. In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest a further $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions chosen to receive federal funding.
“I’m bullish on quantum tech,” Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. “I feel its time has come.”
TUNE IN: The “Cities of Success” special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.
Correction: Maybell Quantum is constructing an excellent refrigerator that chills atoms to greater than 100,000 times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica. An earlier version of this story misstated the metric.