A major quantum computing company has established a presence in Colorado.

IonQ announced it opened a new laboratory and semiconductor chip testing facility in Boulder this week. 

The 22,000-square-foot laboratory on 38th Street and Arapahoe Avenue is set to bring in a quantum computer later in the year so IonQ can design and test its next generation of semiconductor trap chips to help the company “rapidly scale,” according to a news release.

In 2021, the Maryland-based company became the first one specializing in quantum computing to go public in a bid to gain a foothold in the race to commercialize quantum computers against tech titans like Google’s Alphabet, Microsoft and IBM. 

IonQ, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (IONQ), is worth more than $21 billion as of Thursday. 

Quantum computing is a rising technology of supercomputers designed to solve problems most classical computers would take years to compute. Experts hope the technology can span from artificial intelligence to helping cure diseases or better understanding the climate. But the technology’s implementation in the marketplace is still minimal due to the high costs of setting up quantum computers.

Colorado is investing millions of dollars to be at the center of this race to commercialization.

Gov. Jared Polis attended its opening to commend IonQ for choosing to join the state’s prominent quantum industry. 

“Colorado is a quantum hub, and we are only growing,” Polis said. “The selection of Boulder as IonQ’s North American expansion is proof of Colorado’s strong and growing quantum economy, and will bring more high-paying skilled jobs to the region, and attract more businesses to Colorado.”

The Biden administration designated the Mountain West region, spanning from Wyoming to New Mexico and based in the Denver metro area, as the nation’s quantum tech hub in a federal effort to supercharge key industries across the U.S. 

Colorado’s quantum tech hub received more than $100 million in federal and matching state grants, much of which is being used to fund a campus in Boulder to become quantum’s version of the Stanford Research Park in Silicon Valley.

In January, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved IonQ under the code name “Project Electron” for more than $2.75 million in job growth tax incentives and tax credits under the state’s “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS)” program to attract the quantum company. 

IonQ also considered going to New Mexico for the expansion, according to the state.

The expansion is expected to create 150 new jobs and bring $40 million in capital investments to Colorado.

“IonQ’s decision to locate this facility in Boulder reflects the city’s commitment to building the infrastructure and innovation ecosystem needed to support emerging industries like quantum technology,” stated City of Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett.

But it’s not the only major quantum company making major moves in the state recently.

Honeywell announced last week it plans to take Quantinuum — its quantum company based in Broomfield and also a competitor to IonQ — public by listing it on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol QNT.

Quantinuum’s CEO Rajeeb Hazra wrote the company aims to develop a commercial quantum computer by the end of the decade, according to a letter in the company’s initial public offering documents. 

The company also stated it was primed to meet the demand for artificial intelligence, which is struggling to grow under classical computing software.

“Customer deployments across commercial enterprises and governments already point to the scale of the opportunity ahead for Quantinuum — one that has the potential to be as impactful as AI promises to be, if not greater,” he said.