Trump administration outlines quantum, AI initiatives in $6B science push

What happened

The Trump administration has announced over $6 billion in science initiatives, including a $215 million quantum computing competition and $2.4 billion in industry commitments for artificial intelligence tools and computing resources. On Thursday, the Department of Energy identified eight scientific applications to guide its Quantum Genesis Q Competition, which offers up to $215 million in planned funding to companies developing fault-tolerant quantum computers.

First announced in September, the funding contains milestone-based awards and incentive prizes for companies that demonstrate increasingly powerful quantum systems. The White House outlined a $215 million quantum computing competition and $2.4 billion in AI industry commitments as concerns grow over quantum threats to cryptocurrency security.

The research priorities span chemistry, materials science, subatomic physics and applied mathematics. Advances in fault-tolerant quantum computing could have implications for blockchain-based assets that rely on public-key cryptography. However, no quantum computer capable of carrying out such attacks currently exists.

Key facts

• The Trump administration has — announced: over $6 billion in science initiatives, including a $215 million quantum computing competition and $2.4 billion in industry commitments for artificial intelligence tools and computing resources
• First — announced: in September, the funding — includes: milestone-based awards and incentive prizes for companies that demonstrate increasingly powerful quantum systems