UCLA-led SoCal Quantum Alliance receives $9.7 million state investment

The funding will support the SoCal Quantum Alliance for Development, or SQUAD, a UCLA-led initiative spanning Los Angeles, Orange County and the San Diego region. The project will bring together universities, industry, workforce and economic development partners to strengthen regional coordination, expand pathways into quantum careers and accelerate the growth of Southern California's quantum technology sector.

The effort builds on the SoCal Quantum Alliance, launched by UCLA earlier this year to serve as Southern California's anchor for quantum research collaboration, workforce development and industry engagement.

The UCLA effort is led by Eric Hudson, UCLA professor of physics and director of the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering; David Steuerman, executive director of the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering; Chee Wei Wong, UCLA professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-director of the UCLA Quantum Innovation Hub; and Barak Bussel, chair of the CQSE Strategic Board.

"Southern California has extraordinary strengths in quantum science, engineering and technology," Steuerman said. "This investment gives us an opportunity to connect those strengths across the region and build the workforce, partnerships and infrastructure needed for Southern California to lead as quantum technologies move from the laboratory into the economy."

The new investment builds on more than a decade of UCLA leadership in quantum science and engineering. The SoCal Quantum Alliance grew from collaborations developed through CQSE, the National Science Foundation-funded Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, or CIQC, and the NSF-funded National Quantum Virtual Laboratory project, which brings together UCLA, UC Berkeley and other leading research institutions to advance quantum computing and train the next generation of quantum scientists and engineers.

It also complements UCLA's expanding quantum infrastructure, including the Quantum Innovation Hub at the UCLA Research Park, which will bring together researchers, students, companies and government partners in shared research and collaboration space. UCLA recently led another major national quantum effort, with a team selected for an NSF award focused on fault-tolerant quantum computing.

The quantum investment is part of $48.5 million in California Jobs First awards announced for 18 projects across eight regions.