Quantum Computing, Emerging Technology

Phoenix Bets on Quantum to Diversify Economy, Fuel Growth

Avatar of Ivy Delaney
May 1, 2026 by Ivy Delaney

Phoenix is betting on quantum technology to fuel its continued economic expansion and has tapped Sethuraman Panchanathan, former director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to lead the ambitious new initiative. Unveiled by Mayor Kate Gallego, the Phoenix Quantum Strategy aims to unite government, industry, and academia to accelerate development in quantum computing, communication, and sensing, building on the city’s successes in biosciences and advanced semiconductor manufacturing. “Phoenix’s targeted investments have led to enormous growth in the biosciences and advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and I want to make sure that our city, our region and our state lead the economy of the future,” said Mayor Gallego. Quantum technology is being positioned to solve problems beyond the reach of today’s most advanced supercomputers, potentially unlocking new capabilities in fields ranging from data security to healthcare.

Phoenix Quantum Strategy: Uniting Sectors for Tech Advancement

This initiative focuses on actively shaping the development of future technologies and securing a leading position in the emerging quantum field. Leading this effort is Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, formerly the director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and currently University Professor of Technology and Innovation at Arizona State University. His appointment signals a deliberate effort to leverage federal-level science leadership at a municipal level, potentially unlocking access to NSF networks and funding opportunities. The strategy’s core objectives include bolstering research and development, cultivating a skilled quantum workforce, attracting private capital and federal grants, and fostering a supportive environment for startups and technology commercialization.

Panchanathan emphasized Arizona State University’s commitment, saying, “ASU is more than ready to help bring Mayor Gallego’s vision to life.” He further explained that the strategy will capitalize on existing regional strengths in semiconductors, supply chains, and biosciences, while simultaneously creating opportunities for talent, entrepreneurship, and new industry formation. City leaders envision Phoenix not merely participating in the quantum revolution, but becoming a place where it takes root, positioning the city as a global innovation hub for quantum advancement.

Panchanathan’s NSF Leadership Drives Quantum Initiative Vision

The field of quantum technology is rapidly transitioning from theoretical possibility to practical application, with cities now actively competing to become hubs for its development and commercialization. Panchanathan’s prior experience at NSF, where he advanced national priorities in areas like artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, positions him uniquely to foster the necessary partnerships for success. City leaders aim to actively shape the direction of quantum technology, believing Phoenix can become a central location for its growth.

Her foresight to establish Phoenix as a hub for quantum technologies is both timely and important.

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Avatar of Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney

Ivy Delaney has been working with neural networks and machine learning since the mid-nineties, back when a couple of hidden layers and a long afternoon of training counted as ambitious. She has watched the field go from academic curiosity to the thing quietly running underneath everything, and she brings that long view to quantum computing. For Quantum Zeitgeist she covers the ground where the two fields meet. That means quantum machine learning and the variational algorithms it leans on, and it also means the less glamorous but more interesting story of classical machine learning already doing real work inside quantum machines, decoding error-correcting codes, calibrating noisy hardware and learning the error models that simulators depend on. She writes about the hardware those algorithms have to run on too, and about the post-quantum cryptography scramble that the same hardware has set off. Her stories typically start with the paper, whether that is peer-reviewed work, conference proceedings or an arXiv preprint, with the source linked so you can hold a claim up against the research it came from. She is unimpressed by benchmarks that will not say what they beat, and by demonstrations that only work in the press release.

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