Next Realm AI weighs in on why federal investment in quantum research can’t wait
(NEW YORK)—On March 10, researchers from Columbia University and Stony Brook University briefed Congressional staffers on emerging quantum technologies and the federal support needed to keep America competitive. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s office hosted the discussion as Congress begins consideration of the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Bill — and I believe passing it is one of the most important technology decisions Washington will make this year.
Columbia’s Jeannette Wing said it plainly: quantum and AI are no longer abstract fields. They are foundational technologies that will shape the global economy, national security, and scientific leadership for decades. She’s right. And the window to act is shorter than most policymakers realize.
Quantum isn’t a single breakthrough — it’s a compounding infrastructure. Early federal investment in basic research creates the ecosystem from which real-world applications eventually emerge. Universities are the engine of that process. Cut the funding and you don’t just slow the science — you lose the talent pipeline that both government and industry depend on.
At Next Realm AI, we see quantum not as a separate conversation from AI, but as its next chapter. The models and agents being built today will eventually run on infrastructure that quantum makes possible. The research happening in university labs right now is the upstream investment in everything the industry is trying to build downstream.
Congress would do well to listen. The case has been made. Now it needs to be funded.
Next Realm AI provides in-depth media coverage on emerging AI and quantum research. Leveraging over 25 years of technology and capital markets experience, Next Realm aims to deliver expert analysis and thought leadership insight for the rapidly changing technology industry.