Connecticut built America’s first practical helicopter and the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine. Dan O’Keefe believes the state’s next technological frontier is quantum computing.
“If you zoom in on a quantum computer, what you’re really looking at is the intersection of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and material sciences,” said O’Keefe, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development. “And that’s actually where Connecticut has real advantage.”
The state now has federal backing for that ambition.
On July 14, the National Science Foundation (NSF) named Connecticut one of 12 regions nationwide to win a Regional Innovation Engines award, selecting the state’s quantum proposal from a field of 15 finalists. UConn led the application effort, with Yale as a partner and subrecipient. Between them, the schools count close to 90 faculty specializing in quantum research.
The award could bring as much as $281 million in combined federal and state funding over the next decade to support Connecticut’s effort to become a national hub for applied quantum technology. That includes up to $160 million from the NSF and $121 million pledged by the state.
“This is one of the biggest competitive federal grants Connecticut has ever received,” O’Keefe said.
For state officials, university researchers and corporate partners, the goal extends far beyond winning a research grant. They see quantum technology as the next transformational computing platform and believe Connecticut has a chance to carve out a leadership position by focusing on industries that will be among its earliest commercial users.
“I compare this to Silicon Valley in the 1950s and 1960s,” said O’Keefe, who before becoming DECD commissioner was a technology investor for 25 years. “That was the emergence of the semiconductor industry, and I think this is even more profound than what happened then.”
Competitive field
So what is quantum computing?
Quantum computing uses the unique properties of subatomic particles to process information in ways that conventional computers cannot. While it won’t replace today’s computers for most tasks, it has the potential to solve certain complex problems far more quickly than even the most powerful supercomputers.
Although the technology is still in its early stages, researchers believe it could eventually transform industries including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, financial services and cybersecurity.
The opportunity is significant. Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. projects the global quantum technology industry could reach $198 billion by 2040.
That potential has prompted states to compete to become quantum technology hubs. Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and Colorado have launched statewide initiatives, some anchored by major quantum hardware companies.
Illinois, for example, has committed $500 million in state funding to develop the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park in Chicago, which aims to become one of the world’s largest quantum computing campuses.
Connecticut distinguished itself in this year’s federal competition, becoming the only state to secure an NSF Regional Innovation Engines award focused on quantum technology.
The rivalry extends to branding. At the SelectUSA trade show in May, Connecticut officials noticed Illinois’ booth proclaimed it the “Quantum Capital of the World.” Before the show ended, AdvanceCT, Connecticut’s nonprofit business recruitment arm, purchased the quantumcapitaloftheworld.com and .org domain names, said Michelle Ormsby, the organization’s vice president of marketing.
AdvanceCT now owns the domains and plans to make them a central part of QuantumCT’s marketing strategy, which is still in its early stages, Ormsby said.
“We do believe we can rightfully own that claim,” she said.
Rather than trying to compete by manufacturing quantum computers, Connecticut’s strategy centers on becoming the place where companies develop real-world applications for the technology.
The state’s proposal to the NSF focused on industries where Connecticut already has a competitive advantage, including aerospace and defense, pharmaceuticals, insurance and financial services.
“It’s a unique combination of three critical sectors — fintech and insurance, pharma and life sciences, and national security — concentrated here as immediate users,” said Pamir Alpay, UConn’s provost and the award’s principal investigator. “That’s what makes Connecticut special.”
According to the NSF award announcement, Connecticut companies expected to adopt quantum technologies already account for more than 270,000 jobs and 38% of wages paid statewide.
They include some of Connecticut’s largest employers, such as Stratford-based helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky, East Hartford jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, RTX’s East Hartford research center, Groton submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat, insurer Travelers Cos., Stamford-based consumer financial services company Synchrony, and pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer.
A statewide corridor
Winning the quantum race will require more than research. State leaders say Connecticut must build the infrastructure needed to attract companies, train workers and help businesses begin using the technology.
That’s where the public funding comes into play. The NSF award flows to UConn as the lead institution, but the broader effort is coordinated through QuantumCT, a nonprofit partnership among UConn, Yale University, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system and the state.
QuantumCT is led by interim CEO Vivek Ramakrishnan. Its board is searching for a permanent CEO after Albert Green departed following about a year in the role.
QuantumCT plans to open offices this fall at 101 College St. in downtown New Haven — the new life sciences tower developed by Winstanley Enterprises — creating a hub where researchers, startups, industry partners and workforce programs can collaborate. UConn also plans to establish its first New Haven office there, while QuantumCT is evaluating additional locations in Hartford and Storrs.
Southern Connecticut State University will lead workforce development efforts, while Connecticut’s community colleges will help build a pipeline of technicians and other workers needed by the emerging industry.
The New Haven cluster is already home to some of the nation’s leading quantum researchers. Yale physicist Rob Schoelkopf co-founded Quantum Circuits, a Yale spinout acquired earlier this year by California-based D-Wave in a $550 million deal. Schoelkopf now serves as D-Wave’s chief scientist and leads its New Haven research and development center, which has expanded its workforce by 40% since the acquisition, according to the company.
D-Wave describes New Haven as a long-term hub for quantum R&D.
The region’s academic credentials were further bolstered when Michel Devoret, Schoelkopf’s co-founder at Quantum Circuits and a Yale professor emeritus, shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics.
O’Keefe called D-Wave Connecticut’s first anchor quantum company and said the state is in discussions with other quantum firms about locating operations here. AdvanceCT said it is in early talks with more than 15 quantum-related companies about establishing or expanding a presence in Connecticut.
A shared quantum testbed is another key part of the strategy. Because quantum computers remain prohibitively expensive, QuantumCT and industry partners, including D-Wave, plan to develop shared facilities that give startups and researchers access to the technology without requiring them to build or buy their own systems.
“We want to give our startups, our research scientists, our research universities the ability to test quantum algorithms, to test the application of quantum technologies in real time,” O’Keefe said.
Startups could also tap seed capital through Connecticut Innovations, the state’s quasi-public venture capital arm, which last year launched a $50 million AI/Q Fund to invest in artificial intelligence and quantum companies.
Real-world uses
The state’s goal is to accelerate adoption of quantum technologies by Connecticut companies, and some of the first commercial uses are already emerging.
In aerospace and defense, one of the most promising applications is quantum sensing, which could transform navigation systems for aircraft and submarines.
“Imagine you wake up one day and have no access to GPS,” Alpay said. “How do you navigate?”
His teams at UConn are developing ultra-sensitive quantum sensors that could determine position by measuring tiny variations in Earth’s magnetic and gravitational fields. Sikorsky, Pratt & Whitney, RTX and Electric Boat are all partners.
Quantum sensors are the industry’s most mature application, offering precision gains in positioning, navigation, timing and imaging, said Andreas Roelofs, vice president of research for RTX. Quantum computing sits farther out, he said, with the potential to solve problems beyond today’s supercomputers, from discovering advanced materials to refining aerodynamic designs.
The RTX Technology Research Center in East Hartford has worked with QuantumCT since its inception, helping define industry-relevant challenges through seed projects with UConn and Yale faculty-student teams, Roelofs said.
He believes Connecticut is “uniquely qualified to build a quantum corridor.”
Boehringer Ingelheim, whose U.S. headquarters sits in Ridgefield, and Pfizer, which operates a major research campus in Groton, are working with QuantumCT on computing molecular interactions to design drugs “with extreme precision,” Alpay said.
Financial services and insurance companies also see potential.
Travelers, which has a large office footprint in Hartford, and Synchrony have partnered with the effort since its early days, Alpay said, initially focusing on encryption that future quantum computers won’t be able to crack. Eventually, the technology could help insurers better price risk and help financial institutions make faster, more accurate predictions and investment decisions.
Long-term play
Unlike many economic development initiatives, Connecticut’s quantum strategy won’t be judged by the number of jobs it creates in the next year or two.
O’Keefe said the state’s investment is aimed at building the infrastructure needed for an industry that could take years to mature.
“The time to start laying the groundwork is now,” O’Keefe said. “You can’t start in 10 years when others have forward invested and expect to have a meaningful industry here.”
