The National Science Foundation (NSF) selected five additional teams to design experimental quantum technologies under its National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program, adding $20 million in new funding to an effort to build shared national research infrastructure for quantum science and technology.
The five teams, announced in a June 24 press release, will each receive $4 million over two years to refine development plans and prepare for the implementation phase. They join four teams NSF selected in September 2025, bringing the total number of design-stage projects to nine.
NSF expects to select the first teams to transition from the design to the implementation phase later in 2026, subject to appropriations from Congress.
“Across academia, government, and industry, America has an unmatched array of brilliant people working on quantum science and tech with incredible potential to improve our quality of life,” said Brian Stone, who is performing the duties of the NSF director.
“But too often they are working independently in silos,” Stone noted. “We need to bring their talent and ideas together, and NSF is uniquely positioned to make that happen.”
NSF said the virtual laboratory is intended to give researchers across the United States access to specialized resources for developing useful quantum technologies. The newly selected projects focus on capabilities across quantum sensors, networks, and computers.
The new projects include efforts to:
- Develop fault-tolerant quantum computing logic
- Design a quantum networking system designed to carry information over distances of about 60 miles
- Design quantum sensors that could operate inside solid materials or cells
- Develop new error-detection and correction methods for superconducting quantum computers
- Design portable chip-based quantum sensor technology that could be used outside controlled laboratory environments
The teams include researchers and other personnel from higher education institutions across 20 states. Federal partners include the Department of Defense’s Air Force Research Laboratory, Department of Energy national laboratories, NASA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
More than two dozen U.S. companies are also partnering on the projects, including Boeing, Honeywell, IonQ, NVIDIA, and Quantinuum, according to NSF.
NSF said it will also support the teams’ education and training activities, including work with K-12 teachers to develop quantum science curriculum and classroom engagement by researchers.
Also this week, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders aimed at accelerating U.S. quantum technology development and speeding the federal government’s transition to post-quantum cryptography.