State awards $1.2 million to grow New Mexico’s quantum sector

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 14, 2026

State awards $1.2 million to grow New Mexico’s quantum sector

ALBUQUERQUE — Economic Development New Mexico’s Technology & Innovation Office (TIO) has awarded $1.2 million to six companies through the New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award, a competitive grant program that supports early-stage quantum and quantum-enabling technology companies growing operations in the state.

The New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award provides grants of up to $200,000 to support early-stage quantum companies committed to growing in New Mexico. All six awardees must maintain operations in the state for at least two years beyond the grant period, with two companies establishing a New Mexico presence through the grant program.

“These awards build directly on the momentum in New Mexico’s quantum sector, which was recently recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium,” said Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Rob Black. “Each company we support strengthens New Mexico’s standing as one of the country’s premier destinations for quantum innovation.”

“New Mexico’s quantum sector is booming,” said TIO Director Nora Meyers Sackett. “From the Elevate Quantum Tech Hub to our partnership with DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative and investing in tomorrow’s quantum leaders, we’re creating the ecosystem companies need to innovate, grow, and choose New Mexico.”

The six companies receiving the New Mexico Quantum Technologies Awards are:

Bandelier Technologies $200,000

Bandelier Technologies is a Santa Fe-based quantum sensing company bridging the gap between breakthrough quantum science and real-world deployment, building quantum hardware systems and the AI models that unlock their operational potential. Working in close partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory through the NM Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program, Bandelier develops sensing and network intelligence platforms for defense, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure applications.

Conductor Quantum $200,000

Conductor Quantum is building AI software that operates and scales quantum computers. Its goal is quantum superintelligence: an AI agent that operates a quantum computer to make discoveries beyond the reach of the most gifted human minds. The company’s flagship product, Coda, is the natural language interface for quantum computing, enabling anyone or any agent to use a quantum computer. Coda is used today by employees at technology companies including NVIDIA and Arm. Based in San Francisco, the company will use this funding to expand operations into New Mexico.

Mesa Photonics $200,000

Mesa Photonics is a Santa Fe-based company developing a squeezed laser source for scientific and research applications. Its goal is to provide an innovative, turnkey system that features a highly refined form factor and an intuitive user interface. This ultrafast, spectrally broad system utilizes advanced optical detectors and closed-loop electronic control to enable seamless integration into early-stage quantum technology development.

Mesa Quantum $200,000

MesaQuantum Systems Inc. is a venture-backed company driving the commercialization of chip-scale quantum clocks and sensors engineered for volume manufacturing. Mesa Quantum develops quantum-optimized VCSELs (Q-VCSEL™) that serve as photonic building blocks for next-generation quantum sensing and computing systems. With expertise drawn from Sandia and NIST national laboratories in vapor cell-based devices, Mesa Quantum’s vision is to make quantum clocks and sensors small enough and affordable enough for mass-market applications. Mesa Quantum was awarded the pilot Quantum Technologies Award in 2025 and will use this funding to build on work previously enabled by the state, including expanding its footprint in Albuquerque.

Photon Queue $200,000

Photon Queue Inc. builds quantum memory devices that quantum computers need to scale. The company’s novel free-space architecture stores photons by routing them through compact mirror arrangements, effectively placing the photons on a treadmill that holds them until they are needed. Operating at room temperature with no exotic infrastructure, Photon Queue’s devices deliver industry-leading performance that is accelerating the development of quantum computing. Based in Chicago, the company will use this funding to expand operations into New Mexico.

UbiQD $200,000

UbiQD is a New Mexico-based nanotechnology company that develops and manufactures quantum dots, nanoscale semiconductor materials with applications in agriculture, renewable energy, and advanced quantum photonics. Founded in Los Alamos and built on technology licensed from Los Alamos National Laboratory and MIT, UbiQD is a global leader in quantum dot manufacturing and is constructing a large-scale production facility in New Mexico to support growing demand for its products.

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