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First, we want to send out congratulations to the Qubic team on securing $2.5 million U.S. ($3.5 million Canadian) in funding—a small but meaningful step in quantum’s ongoing journey from theory to impact.

And now, let’s discuss the Trump administration’s executive orders. I hate the term game-changer — maybe retiring the inning? It that too American? How about a “a match-turning moment” to keep with the World Cup spirit.

Well, whatever your favorite sports analogy, quantum technology has seemed to occupy — as long as I’ve followed it — an uneasy place among the technological field. It’s been too promising to ignore, yet too immature for widespread commercial use. Researchers and entrepreneurs often found themselves explaining why fragile machines, complex sensors and hypothetical cryptographic threats deserved serious investment and policy attention.

Two recent executive orders have arquably changed that, officially elevating quantum technology into the realm of national strategy. One order outlines a coordinated federal push across quantum computing, sensing and networking, emphasizing workforce development, supply chain resilience and research protection. The other accelerates the transition to post-quantum cryptography, aiming to safeguard government systems against future quantum-enabled cyber threats.

For the quantum community, this recognition is both validation and challenge.

After years of skepticism, the field is finally being taken seriously. Very seriously. But attention brings expectations. The industry must now demonstrate that it can translate theory into practice—moving from lab experiments to reliable, real-world systems.

The executive orders should not be seen as a victory lap. Quantum computing still faces major technical hurdles. Quantum networks are in early stages. Quantum sensing shows promise, but many applications remain unproven outside controlled environments. Even post-quantum cryptography, though more mature, will require complex and costly implementation across federal systems.

The best path is measured confidence as we trod the next steps of this road defined not just by research, but also by responsibility.

Have a great weekend!

— Krista Elliott, Narrative Content Strategist at The Quantum Insider

Check out this week’s handpicked quantum research studies and news focusing on real-world impact: improving accuracy, reducing latency, using fewer resources, or solving problems that classical methods struggle with.

Quantum Headlines

“The second order I'm signing directs federal agency to transition to what is called quantum cryptography. Does anybody know what that is? You're going to hear very soon, so you're going to find it interesting.”

While President Trump might not know precisely what quantum cryptography entails (to be fair, few politicians do) , the administration has a strong quantum ally within its ranks: Michal Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and architect of the original National Quantum Initiative Act.

Kratsios has been flying under the radar compared to many members of the Trump administration, but he’s been quietly engaging with quantum as a strategic priority for some time, and crafts expert-led policies that gain bipartisan support. While Trump may have wielded the Sharpie, Kratsios is the name to remember when it comes to the United States’ quantum efforts — and the legacy this executive order will leave.

— Krista Elliott, Narrative Content Strategist at The Quantum Insider

The Defense Innovation Unit launched a multi-phase quantum sensing and timing initiative that could invest up to $200 million within the next year to move mature technologies into military use. The project will focus on quantum electric field sensors, magnetometers, gravity gradiometers, tactical clocks and related components for aerial, surface and subsurface missions.

Meanwhile, The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Quantum Genesis initiative to develop and deploy a fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computing capability for research and development by 2028. The effort supports President Trump’s quantum executive order and includes the QC-ADDS effort to advance quantum computers powerful enough for scientific research.

Taiyi Quantum reportedly raised 300 million yuan, or about $44 million, in a Pre-A funding round that underscores investor interest in China’s quantum computing sector. The Shanghai startup is led by Liu Hongbin, a former Microsoft Azure Quantum architect. Taiyi is developing a ytterbium-based neutral-atom quantum computer, an approach that uses laser-trapped atoms as qubits and may offer advantages in scaling, control and error detection.

Yale-led ERASE received a $4 million NSF grant to begin a two-year second phase aimed at developing a blueprint for a large-scale, error-correcting quantum computer. The project focuses on erasure qubits that can flag dominant errors when they occur, potentially making quantum error correction easier to manage.

The Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative has selected 18 professionals from 17 Tennessee employers for the nation’s first quantum pre-apprenticeship, designed to help organizations prepare for future quantum technology adoption. The 12-week program provides training in quantum computing, networking, and sensing while participants complete employer-focused assessments identifying potential quantum use cases.

Lockheed Martin is investing in quantum navigation sensors that could work with GPS to provide more precise and resilient positioning when satellite signals are blocked, jammed or spoofed. The company says quantum sensors can operate independently of satellite signals and may help reduce drift in inertial navigation systems used on defense platforms.

Qubic has raised an oversubscribed $2.5 million USD ($3.5 million CAD) seed funding round to accelerate commercialization of its cryogenic amplifier technology and quantum sensing platform. The company develops low-noise cryogenic amplifiers designed to reduce heat dissipation in quantum computing systems, addressing a key challenge in scaling quantum hardware.

Other News:

➡️ President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that place quantum technology and post-quantum cybersecurity more firmly inside U.S. economic, scientific and national security policy.

➡️ The first order, titled Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation, calls for an updated national quantum strategy, stronger federal coordination and a broader push to build a trusted domestic quantum ecosystem.

➡️ The order creates the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science, or QC-ADDS, an effort to develop at least one powerful quantum computer for scientific research at a Department of Energy facility.

➡️ The directive also calls for new work on quantum benchmarking, quantum sensors, quantum networks, supply chains, counterintelligence protections and workforce development.

➡️ A second executive order directs federal agencies to accelerate the migration to post-quantum cryptography, with key deadlines for high-value systems and federal contractors set for 2027, 2030 and 2031.

➡️ The orders show that the administration is treating quantum not only as a research field, but as a strategic technology tied to computing, encryption, industrial policy, national defense and international competition.

Commentary:

For much of the past decade, quantum computing has lived in a kind of policy gray zone — important enough to fund and organize, but still distant enough to be treated as a long-term scientific bet rather than an immediate strategic priority. Governments supported research… sort of, companies chased milestones and the broader system waited for clearer signs of practical impact.

While the quantum industry has never taken a pause in shining the light on the strategic importance of quantum, these executive orders suggest that, for an ever-broadening public, the dawn is rapidly approaching.

The most important point may not be any single provision. It is the way the orders frame quantum, not as a narrow research program or an isolated scientific bet, but as a national capability that cuts across defense, energy, commerce, intelligence, cybersecurity, workforce policy and foreign relations.

For years, the federal government’s quantum posture has largely rested on research funding, agency coordination and the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act. That law helped organize U.S. quantum activity and gave the sector a formal policy foundation. The new orders appear to go further, linking quantum development to procurement signals, supply-chain planning, counterintelligence, workforce development and the urgent need to protect encrypted data. Quantum advocates have — and I know I’m preaching to the choir here — begged for action on these initiatives over the last few years.

As far as QC-ADDS, the placing of at least one powerful quantum computer at a Department of Energy facility points to a more active federal role in shaping the next stage of quantum computing. The Energy Department already manages national laboratories and major supercomputing centers, so adding a quantum system to that environment could give researchers a shared test bed for scientific applications that may eventually move beyond classical computing.

If you’re in the midst of counting unhatched chickens, all of this does not mean useful quantum computing has arrived, or that the federal government knows which hardware platform, system design or application area will matter most. It does suggest, however, that Washington wants to help define the conditions under which useful quantum computing might emerge.

The benchmarking provisions touches on those concerns about quantum’s maturity. Quantum computing is still difficult to measure in ways that matter to customers, investors and policymakers, and simple metrics like qubit counts can be misleading. A larger machine is not necessarily a better one, especially when error rates, control systems, speed, software, connectivity and stability all influence whether a system can do useful work.

A national center focused on assessing quantum computing performance could bring more discipline to a market that is still crowded with competing claims. That could benefit the field overall, even if it creates pressure for companies that rely heavily on headline metrics without demonstrating progress toward practical capability.

The orders also make clear that quantum policy is no longer just about computing. Sensors, networks and enabling components receive significant attention, reflecting the possibility that some of the earliest practical uses of quantum technology may emerge outside general-purpose quantum computers. Improvements in timing, navigation, imaging or detection could have near-term value for defense and industry, while quantum networks may eventually support secure communications or distributed computing.

Let’s also touch on the cybersecurity order, which, some ways, may be the more urgent of the two. A large-scale cryptographically relevant quantum computer does not yet exist, and there is no firm timeline for when one will. The risk, however, is not limited to future decryption. Adversaries may already be collecting encrypted data and storing it for later use, a scenario often described as harvest now, decrypt later, which has made post-quantum cryptography one of the most immediate policy concerns in the field.

The order’s deadlines for migrating to quantum-resistant encryption are therefore worth watching closely. Moving federal systems, contractors and critical infrastructure toward post-quantum cryptography will be a complex effort involving system inventories, software updates, vendor coordination, procurement changes and careful testing to avoid disrupting networks that already carry sensitive information.

This is where the two orders connect. One is designed to accelerate quantum capability, while the other aims to defend against the consequences of that capability.

Ultimately, the battle to build quantum will not be decided solely by which company harnesses the most qubits or which lab publishes the most impressive paper. It will depend on all the boring things — the infrastructure, standards, supply chains, security, talent, procurement and international alliances, and research milestones.

This might be a little subtle, but the orders may signal how Washington is talking about quantum. The conversations is moving from quantum as a science-and-innovation narrative toward one centered on industrial policy and national security.

The new narrative is liable to create opportunities, including more federal demand, clearer benchmarks and stronger support for domestic supply chains. It may also bring increased scrutiny, more reporting requirements and greater pressure on companies to demonstrate that their systems can deliver.

The quantum industry has long argued that its technologies will matter for national competitiveness, and the administration’s latest orders suggest the federal government increasingly agrees.

Now comes the hard part and there’s no turning back. The quantum industry is tasked with turning that strategic importance into working machines, secure systems, trained workers and real-world capability.

Are we up for it?

PacketLight Networks and NEC demonstrated quantum key distribution over a 400G dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network using a dual-fiber setup. They integrated NEC’s QKD system with PacketLight’s PL-4000M 600G Muxponder, achieving 100% data throughput and low latency, verified via a 100GbE tester. The QKD ran over a dedicated parallel fiber, maintaining quantum signal integrity. The result: a cost-effective, scalable quantum-safe model with zero performance tradeoffs on existing high-capacity infrastructure.

July 1-3 – The 2026 IEEE International Conference on Quantum Control, Computing, and Learning will take place from Wednesday to Friday.

July 2-4 – Quantum Korea 2026 will take place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, South Korea.

July 7 -- Are Agents the Secret to Quantum R&D Success? Presented by Resonance and hosted by Haiqu, leaders from across the quantum ecosystem will discuss what's working, what's hype, and what still needs to be figured out.

July 12-17 -- Optica Imagesense Congress will take place at the Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre in Maastricht, Netherlands. 

July 13-18 – IEEE World Congress on SERVICES 2026 will take place in Sydney, Australia.

July 22-23 – Global Quantum Forum 2026 will take place in Chicago, Illinois 

July 26-31 – Many-Body Quantum Systems will take place at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.  

September 15 – Quantum Leap Career Nexus 2026 will take place at the University of Maryland.

September 9-10 -- Rice Quantum Frontiers Summit will take place at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

October 1 -- Quantum in Business (QiB) Conference will take place at The Westin Chattanooga in Tennessee and will be hosted by EPB Quantum. 

October 7 -- City Quantum & AI Summit will take place at Mansion House in London.

Editor: Matt Swayne

Contributors: Krista Elliott