Tayer: Quantum Incubator: Not Just Another Ribbon Cutting

Originally published by BizWest on January 28, 2025.

A friend asked ChatGPT to do a roast of John Tayer, and there were plenty of digs about my affinity for ribbon cutting ceremonies. (Try it sometime, it will humble you, too.) Well, guilty as charged. I have the big Boulder Chamber scissors and a roll of our silky red ribbon ready for your business grand opening.

That said, certain new business investment celebrations represent a much broader economic milestone for the Boulder community — as was the case during this month’s ribbon cutting for the Quantum Incubator.

Nestled within the burgeoning technology center that encompasses many of the commercial structures that BioMed Realty operates in Flatiron Park, the Quantum Incubator is the leading edge of federal and state investment that follows the designation of Colorado as the national Tech Hub for quantum technology. The facility will serve as a development center for applications of quantum research advances — some of them Nobel Prize-worthy — that are percolating at the University of Colorado and other regional laboratories.

I was the final speaker during the ribbon cutting event that featured remarks from Gov. Jared Polis, CU president Todd Saliman and chancellor Justin Schwartz, Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, BioMed leasing director Jennifer Chavez, along with other business, economic development and political leaders. Thoughtfully emceed by Scott Sternberg, a former Boulder Chamber staff member and executive director of the CUbit Quantum Initiative, the extensive nature of the speaker list reflected the gravity of the moment, as punctuated by statements, such as “incredible impact,” “transformative breakthroughs,” and “thriving quantum ecosystem.”

Standing, scissors in hand, between these notable speakers and the actual ribbon cutting, I only offered a few additional points, but ones that spoke to positioning of the Quantum Incubator in the pantheon of Boulder’s legacy business achievements.

First, the collaborative effort that gave rise to the Quantum Incubator is indicative of how universities, government leadership and economic development partners across Colorado work together to turn innovation into economic opportunity that benefits our entire state. The very scope of diverse players that had a hand in first securing our Tech Hub designation — led by the Elevate Quantum coalition that also included representatives from New Mexico and Wyoming — speaks volumes about those who recognize the power of partnership to achieve economic vitality goals over petty parochialism.

Second, the Quantum Incubator also represents the next catalytic phase in what has been a long-term effort to advance quantum research and apply that scientific knowledge toward addressing technology challenges in a business context. “It’s a roadmap to economic vitality,” I noted, “that is well-worn by cornerstone Boulder industries as diverse as bioscience and aerospace. It’s scientific discovery fusing with entrepreneurship in an environment that supports business enterprise.”

Finally, I expressed my confidence that the Quantum Incubator will be a magnet for business recruitment to Colorado that complements our other quantum business pioneers. These new recruits, I observed in a nod to the Hamilton musical, want to “be in the room” where quantum science is moving from the laboratory into the free market. And when they join the quantum companies that have already planted their flag in our community, they will recognize that “Boulder and Colorado have the scientific knowledge, the entrepreneurial muscle and the workforce talent to support their success.”

Bold statements, I know, but given the magnitude of the breakthroughs that quantum technology promises for a myriad of industries, they are no platitudes. As offered last fall by Maybell Quantum Industries CEO and founder Corban Tillemann-Dick during the Boulder Chamber’s Economic Summit, “The exciting thing about quantum is that it is a reinvention of the technology that has profoundly more capability and almost unimaginable impact.” In his estimation, “quantum’s going to drive $3.5 trillion a year in economic value as it comes to scale.”

Of course, none of this will come to fruition without great additional effort. We must continue appealing for government and private sector support of quantum research in our regional universities and federal laboratories. We also need to maintain a strong business environment, including meaningful incentives, a restrained regulatory structure and workforce development training programs to fill advanced manufacturing positions in the quantum space. And all along the way, we need to support our fledgling quantum businesses with adequate startup funding.

The Boulder Chamber will have an important role to play in all these steps toward seizing the economic opportunities of what Scott Sternberg called a “growing center of mass for quantum technology.” For now, we’re just happy to wield the ribbon cutting scissors — or, in this case, hand them to the governor — to celebrate the launch of the Quantum Incubator and what I characterized as, “The cornerstone of a new revolutionary chapter for Boulder, for Colorado, and for our nation in scientific advancement, business development and economic vitality.”