Texas A&M Seeks $38M for Quantum Technology Initiative

Texas A&M University is seeking $38 million for a quantum technology initiative as part of its 2028-29 biennium Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR), identifying the project as its top exceptional-item priority for the upcoming budget cycle.

The initiative, called Quantum Spur, would support quantum computing, quantum sensing, hardware, workforce development and public education. Unlike some university research requests, the item is marked as having an IT component in the LAR.

Texas A&M is requesting $22 million in fiscal year 2028 and $16 million in FY 2029 for the project. The request includes 25 full-time equivalent positions in the first year and 30 in the second year.

The university says the funding would establish Texas’ first on-premises hybrid quantum-classical computing platform and a quantum sensor facility. The LAR says the initiative would support research capacity, national security, economic competitiveness, industry partnerships and workforce development in quantum technologies.

The IT component would include acquisition of parts for a hybrid quantum system. The LAR says the quantum core would use qubit quantum processing units from Anyon Technologies, consisting of at least four 49-qubit superconducting chiplet modules operating at millikelvin temperatures inside a dilution refrigerator. Wiring layers would connect to pulse processors for qubit control and readout.

The LAR says the hardware would integrate with Texas A&M’s NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD AI supercomputer, giving the university computational power, data infrastructure and research capacity to support quantum development. The document also says the project would support hybrid AI-enabled workflows.

Texas A&M says the project would provide researchers, companies, students and workforce trainees with direct access to quantum computing capabilities that are not currently available in the state. The university says the initiative would support sectors including energy, aerospace, defense, health and semiconductor manufacturing.

The request also includes a workforce component. Texas A&M proposes launching a Quantum Development Workbench to provide hands-on training for students, veterans, workers displaced by automation and others seeking new career pathways. The university also proposes summer programs for Texas high school educators and public outreach through seminars and a “Quantum Roadshow.”

The LAR lists an estimated IT project cost of nearly $55 million through FY 2032. The document says future funding would be needed to maintain operations and continue workforce development across the state.

Texas A&M says partial funding could allow the project to be scaled, but a reduced scope would limit the university’s ability to establish a fully integrated hybrid quantum-classical computing platform and quantum sensor facility. The LAR says continued reliance on cloud-based quantum computing services would restrict research flexibility, increase latency and limit access to hardware for experimentation and education.

The university’s LAR also includes a technology-adjacent facilities request. Texas A&M is seeking debt-service support tied to a proposed $125 million Public Service and Leadership Development Building for the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

The 75,000-square-foot building would include technology-enabled classrooms, national security and homeland security training spaces, a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and work and study areas for students. The administrator’s statement also describes national and homeland security rooms with modern IT and satellite imagery systems.