In closed-door discussions with quantum industry leaders at a White House event on Tuesday, government officials pushed the importance of domestic supply chain security, according to a person in attendance. The tone of the Trump administration was “sober” and “serious,” they said. While officials highlighted actions taken by the White House to support the quantum industry, there was no sense of partisan performance, the person said. Officials also emphasized the transition to more advanced cryptographic algorithms that quantum computers can’t break — a threat Google recently warned could arrive as soon as 2029.
The event follows the White House’s publication of two executive orders which addressed similar issues. At the time, academics questioned whether the Trump administration’s stated objective to expand the quantum workforce translated to more funding for universities and basic research. Tuesday’s keynote by Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios echoed the need for workforce development but stopped short of making any funding commitments.