Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced a new quantum initiative and a plan to give $25 million more to a nuclear grant program in an effort to make the Volunteer State the national leader on two emerging technologies.
Lee revealed the Tennessee Quantum Initiative on Monday in his final State of the State address. The initiative would receive $20 million in nonrecurring public funding under Lee’s budget proposal, which will go before the General Assembly for approval.
The initiative is a statewide effort to promote quantum research, infrastructure and workforce development, Lee said.
Chattanooga is the state’s capital for the next generation of computing and networking, thanks to EPB, the city-owned local utility. EPB launched the first commercially available quantum network in 2023 and purchased a $22 million quantum computer last year.
(READ MORE: EPB teams up with Nvidia to combine quantum, classical computing)