President Trump’s plan to usher in a new golden age of American science with an initial focus on quantum computing is now closer to physical reality as the National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the founding members of its new X-Labs Consortium that will provide the necessary physical space for the initiative. The X-Labs Consortium is designed to work independently outside research centers traditionally associated with universities and industry facilities.

The founding partners of the X-Labs Consortium have committed $300 million to directly support it with physical space, instrument access and other support functions and expertise. The NSF X-Labs program is a long-range funding scheme with $1.5 billion in hand to back independent researchers. X-Labs teams are meant to carry new technologies from early development to something private enterprise can scale.

Among the founding partners are philanthropic organizations that include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Astera Institute, the Secunda Family Foundation and many others.

Two of the founding partners fit squarely in the quantum ecosphere. Occam Foundry is a quantum technology campus under development on 16.5 acres near Austin, Texas. When completed, the Occam Foundry is meant to co-locate university spinouts, startups and operational quantum hardware alongside cleanroom semiconductor fabrication facilities. Occam Foundry is designed to be a commercialization center rather than a research park, according to developer Matt Cimaglia.

Cimaglia also is a founding member of Florida Quantum, a group organizing the state’s quantum economy. The Florida Quantum Center seeks a location in the midst of other research institutes located on the Jupiter campus of Florida Atlantic University. Florida’s state government wants to create a quantum hub along the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach corridor. 

The two sites cover different research ground. Occam Foundry in Austin focuses on hardware and applications while Florida Quantum’s interest lies in molecular and pharmaceutical research. Matt Cimaglia is the entrepreneurial founder of Quantum Coast Capital, a Palm Beach technology investment firm with a strong interest in quantum technologies. 

The NSF’s $1.5 billion is meant to be spread over a 10-year period with awards allocated under its “Other Transaction” authority rather than through the conventional grant process. X-Labs is seen as an independent conduit around perceived “bottlenecks” associated with universities and industry facilities in bringing technology to market.

Beyond the initial focus on quantum tech, NSF also has established an Office of Metascience to support the White House vision articulated in its Science: A New Golden Age report, cited as the first comprehensive rethinking of U.S. science and technology enterprise in the last 80 years. In addition to quantum, the new office will focus on how to accelerate development of “super intelligence” and investigate cross-disciplinary initiatives as well as novel funding mechanisms. Among the programs planned is a Quantum+X prize designed to speed up quantum innovation in energy, biotechnology and finance. A second Synthetic Multicellularity prize will showcase synthetic biology advances. One of the X-Labs partners is Ginkgo Bioworks, whose expertise lies in industrial-scale biology automation. Both prizes are meant to attract non-traditional entrants.