Governor Pritzker opens Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP): PsiQuantum, an anchor tenant, starts construction on the South Side of Chicago
Governor JB Pritzker celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of PsiQuantum’s facility at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) with a strong coalition of top quantum commercial, research, academic, and government institutions. This groundbreaking ceremony begins the construction of cutting-edge facilities at Quantum Shore on Chicago’s South Side that will complete the Park. Illinois could lead quantum innovation, create billions of dollars, and thousands of jobs with this massive project.
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PsiQuantum: Anchoring the Quantum Future
The first utility-scale, error-corrected quantum computer is scheduled to be housed in the Park by PsiQuantum, the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP’s anchor tenant. The chief executive officer and co-founder of PsiQuantum, Prof. Jeremy O’Brien, stated that the company is starting construction on the biggest quantum computing project in the US with strong backing from the State of Illinois. The “world-changing potential of quantum computing” will be unlocked at the South Side of Chicago, where he said they are proud to have constructed America’s first utility-scale quantum computer.
The IQMP’s list of international businesses is expanding quickly, and corporations like IBM, Diraq, and Infleqtion are among them. With these founding partners already on board, IQMP is growing into the largest quantum ecosystem in North America, according to Dr Harley Johnson, Executive Director and CEO of the Park, who said the groundbreaking marks the beginning of a new era. Johnson pledged to make the Park a source of pride and opportunity for Chicago’s South Side and a global innovation hub.
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A Hub for Innovation and Transformation
The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP is a unique park designed for advanced microelectronics research and development (R&D) and quantum technology scale-up. The entire ecosystem of businesses, researchers, suppliers, end users, and partners required to hasten the commercialization of quantum technology is supported by its strategic design. With the promise of innovations in fields including healthcare, energy, the climate crisis, transportation, financial services, and agriculture, these technologies have the ability to significantly address some of humanity’s most pressing problems.
The State of Illinois has invested a significant amount of money in this industry. The $500 million investment in Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP comes after a $200 million investment in support of the Chicago Quantum Exchange. Illinois’ national leadership was solidified, federal research funds were drawn in, and the foundation for the current effort was established by this first commitment. There is no denying the momentum, as the IQMP is expected to generate thousands of employment and have an economic impact of over $20 billion on the Chicago area in the years to come.
The core partners of the IQMP further ensure its success:
- IBM will visit the Park with its cutting-edge Quantum System Two computer. Additionally, IBM and the State will work together to construct the National Quantum Algorithm Centre (NQAC) at the IQMP.
- As part of a $50 million investment, Infleqtion plans to establish its global headquarters for quantum computing operations at Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP. This financing will support the creation of the next generation of Infleqtion’s Sqale quantum computer as well as the development of a utility-scale, neutral atom quantum system.
- While the Park is being built, Diraq, an Australian company that was recently awarded a DARPA contract, will start working through the Park’s On-Ramp Program, using temporary lab space and specialized equipment.
- Members of the quantum R&D community who get competitively awarded DARPA funds will be able to use the Park’s shared facilities and help defray infrastructure expenses as part of the Quantum Proving Ground (QPG) initiative.
- Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP’s distinctive National Quantum Algorithm Centre (NQAC) will serve as a hub, bringing together hardware manufacturers, software developers, end users, and specialists in quantum algorithms to address practical problems.
IQMP is the largest concentration of quantum activity in North America as a result of these shared commitments. In order to enable potential tenants to become part of the Chicago quantum ecosystem before to the campus being finished, the IQMP also started an On-Ramp initiative.
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Transforming the South Side Community
Community transformation is at the heart of this undertaking, local leaders stressed. The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is about “more than technology, it is about transformation for South Chicago,” according to Mayor Brandon Johnson. Along with a new Advocate Health hospital and lakefront access, the investment should boost employment and education.
“This historic groundbreaking serves as an international reminder that future-focused technological opportunities will be born not just in Silicon Valley but on the southeast side of Chicago,” said Toni Preckwinkle, president of the Cook County Board. “The Pritzker-Stratton administration has worked tirelessly with partners to make this investment a reality in communities that have often been overlooked,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton.
The proposal seeks to build “Quantum Shore” on South Chicago’s abandoned steelmaking site. A major employer, the U.S. Steel South Works, closed in 1992 on this location. According to Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, the master developer, this unique ecosystem will act as a springboard for innovators.
The development incorporates a wide range of community advantages. In order to create a thriving ecosystem, the project includes a 53-bed Advocate Health Care hospital, more than 100 acres of restored and enlarged parkland, and new recreational pathways that connect locals to Steelworkers Park, Park 566, the lakefront, and the historic ore walls. With this change, the South Chicago community is now at the forefront of quantum computing, according to 10th Ward Alderman Peter Chico.
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A Focus on Future Talent
Through the holding of multiple meetings with local people, educators, small businesses, and community organizations, Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP and its partners have made workforce development and community involvement a top priority. Most importantly, by introducing K–12 kids to quantum principles through postsecondary programs at schools like Chicago State University and the City Colleges of Chicago, they are investing in the next generation of talent.
With businesses like PsiQuantum investing in schools, young people in South Chicago may envision themselves in these settings, said Priscilla Horton, principal of Bowen High School. Cultivating the “immense talent that exists right here in the communities” is what the Park symbolizes, according to Chicago State University President Zaldwaynaka Scott. “We are honored to be a part of this historic moment, preparing the next generation of diverse workforce talent to lead in the quantum era,” said Juan Salgado, Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago.
Academic and National Laboratory Collaboration
Leading academic and research institutions in Illinois have provided substantial funding for the initiative. The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP’s creation shows the state’s commitment to leading the quantum revolution, said University of Illinois System president Timothy Killeen. The University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Dean Nadya Mason underlined the relevance of these linkages in developing a global quantum ecosystem. Northwestern University president Henry Bienen said their diverse research environment promotes quantum physics discoveries for scalable technologies and businesses.
Additionally, the state’s national laboratories have a significant role. “The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park IQMP supports the U.S. Department of Energy goals for quantum research and enhances innovation ecosystems,” said Young-Kee Kim, Interim Director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). The area, known as the “Quantum Prairie,” will become the nation’s epicenter of quantum research, according to Argonne National Laboratory’s Paul Kearns, who congratulated the partners.
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