Gov. Pritzker Provides Keynote Remarks at the Quantum World Congress

TYSONS, VA – Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined policymakers, researchers, industry executives, investors, and academics for the 2025 Quantum World Congress, a global exposition bringing together the world’s quantum leaders to set the agenda for the newest era in technological exploration and experimentation. The Governor offered keynote remarks, speaking to the state’s unprecedented efforts to build out quantum infrastructure in Illinois—the future quantum capital of the world.

“The Quantum World Congress is an opportunity for the brightest minds in the field to chart the course toward realizing an exciting vision for our quantum future,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Quantum has the potential to help solve humanity’s greatest challenges, create billions of dollars in economic value, and fundamentally change the future of society. Innovation at this pace and scale will require a truly global effort, and events like the Quantum World Congress are an excellent place to lay that foundation and shape the quantum era together.”

Quantum World Congress is a global quantum exposition event that brings together hundreds of the world’s leading quantum experts, government officials, and business leaders for collaboration and networking under the shared goal of advancing quantum globally.

During the Governor’s visit, he also convened a roundtable with global quantum companies to discuss collaboration, workforce, supply chain, and advancing opportunities for quantum in Illinois and across the globe.

Governor Pritzker has prioritized making Illinois a global player in the quantum industry, supporting research and development and attracting leading names in the quantum realm to the state.

This includes a $500 million investment in the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP)—a first-of-its-kind campus built for quantum technology and microelectronics innovation—as well as $200 million in funding to support the Chicago Quantum Exchange, among other key investments.

Since the announcement of IQMP, the number of tenants has grown to include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), PsiQuantum, IBM, Infleqtion, and Diraq—who leverage their resources to explore the impactful applications of quantum in our everyday lives. This includes the National Quantum Algorithm Center, which will be fueled by IBM’s next-generation, modular quantum computer (“IBM Quantum System Two”).

Illinois’ quantum efforts are in collaboration with world-class institutions like the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Argonne, and Fermilab.

The state’s quantum campus acts as a global hub, bringing world leaders in research and industry to Illinois, and emerging technologies and ideas to the world. At this year’s Quantum World Congress, Gov. Pritzker used the international forum to extend an open invitation for startups and expanding companies to bring their business to Illinois.

Governor Pritzker recognizes the global implications of the quantum era—the untold, exciting scientific advances in cybersecurity, computing, medicine, and other fields, as well as the inherent obligation to push this technology toward the betterment of humankind.

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