The Trump administration’s latest budget requests at least a half-billion dollars across three federal agencies to advance America’s quantum information science landscape in 2021—and includes millions to develop what U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios called “the first quantum internet in the world.”
The Energy Department, National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards and Technology each saw cuts in overall research and development funding for the next fiscal year, but together they could gain a combined $500 million in quantum-focused investments, Kratsios and another official from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy told Nextgov Monday.
The office does not yet have a “rolled up total” for proposed quantum spending across all agencies—and according to the official, likely won’t for several months—but on a call with reporters and other officials Monday, Kratsios indicated that the White House aims for quantum research and development to see “a more than 50% increase” across all federal agencies for fiscal ‘21, which includes $500 million across the three named agencies alone. That’s up from the $430 million in quantum funds the administration requested for fiscal 2020. Kratsios noted the latest budget request supports the National Quantum Initiative Act, which authorized more than a billion dollars in quantum research and development funding over five years. The law includes specific requirem ..
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