Date received:
December 6, 2024
Subject:
The Future of Everything: Chicago’s Quantum Leap
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Location:
New York, NY
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Chicago Wants to Build the Silicon Valley of Quantum Computing
RENDERING: PSIQUANTUM
Chicago is sick of playing second fiddle to Silicon Valley and other tech hubs, and local investors are pushing not just to develop cutting-edge tech in the city—but to build local businesses around those innovations, too.
The Windy City has long been a hub for breakthroughs in nanotechnology, the life sciences and even the development of the internet itself, thanks in part to the region’s numerous universities and labs. But when it has come to commercializing technology developed in Chicago, many researchers and entrepreneurs have built businesses elsewhere.
This week, we zoom in on the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, or IQMP, an ambitious industrial park that aims to make Chicago the center of the growing quantum economy.
The IQMP, which will be located on the site of an old U.S. Steel mill, has public and private backing. Illinois is investing $500 million and the city of Chicago and Cook County are investing $5 million each. Companies across the U.S. are also continuing to invest in a quantum future.
The 128-acre park is slated to host at least one existing quantum computing company, a center where startups will develop apps for new supercomputers and a proving ground designed to evaluate the efficacy of other quantum projects.
$1 trillion
The value forecast to be generated by quantum computing globally by 2035, up from about $3 billion today, according to a BCG forecast prepared for the Chicago Quantum Exchange projects. Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana’s share of that windfall could reach nearly $80 billion by 2035, up from roughly $60 million.
If Chicago is successful, the project could create an updated model for regional economic development. Similar high-tech redevelopment projects are underway across the U.S. as government officials race to distribute the billions of dollars allocated to boost U.S. chip production under President Biden’s Chips Act before Donald Trump returns to office.
🎥 Inside the race to revolutionize quantum computing. (Watch)
Quantum computers could soon shorten your airport connection. (Read)
🤔 Do you think local efforts to transform Chicago into a hub for quantum businesses will succeed? Why or why not? Send me your thoughts, questions and predictions by hitting “reply” to this email.
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More of What’s Next: Homegrown Chips; Nature Credits; Private Hydrants
PHOTO: JORDAN VONDERHAAR FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Amazon announced plans for an “Ultracluster,” a massive AI supercomputer made up of hundreds of thousands of its homegrown Trainium chips. The cluster will be used by AI startup Anthropic, in which Amazon recently invested a fresh $4 billion.
PHOTO: OWLETTS FARM
Some farmers in England are getting paid not to farm. Biodiversity Net Gain, a new market for “nature credits,” lets landowners sell units of nature to developers who are now legally required to offset damage they do to habitats.
PHOTO: ADAM AMENGUAL FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Wealthy Americans are now paying for their own personal fire hydrants. In fire-prone areas like Malibu, some are paying upward of $150,000 for personal systems that offer added protection in the event of a natural disaster.
🎧 Podcast: How Drones Help Drugs and Medical Aid Move Faster
Autonomous aviation is making medical aid more accessible and emergency response time shorter than ever. In this conversation from WSJ’s Future of Everything Festival in May, GoAERO CEO Gwen Lighter and Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton share how their respective companies are revamping medical access.
Listen Now
Future Feedback
Last edition, we reported on scientists who are using Crispr to engineer sweeter tomatoes. Readers shared their thoughts on genetically modified foods:
“I am totally against eating genetically edited vegetables. Raising the glucose and fructose content of tomatoes? I guess the incidence of diabetes isn’t already high enough. And as for eliminating the bitterness from mustard greens? They are uniquely delicious because of it!”—Carole Hess, Germany
“Engineered foods don’t bother me because humans have been ‘engineering’ foods for millennia. But I do care if they’re engineered to be less healthy. I’d be happy for scientists to create a tomato that tastes like a homegrown one picked at the perfect ripeness, but I don’t need my apples to be any sweeter.”—Marcia Brandes, Georgia
“It really depends on what they’re doing with those tools. Tomatoes don’t need to be sweeter, so I have no interest in that. I’d be more interested in eating food with augmented micronutrient content.”—Nathan Mytelka, New Jersey
“I would love it if they could make all the healthy vegetables that I am supposed to eat taste better. Then I could have a better diet.”—Jack Bittner, Florida
(Responses have been condensed and edited.)
Elsewhere in the Future
The Department of Defense is investing in deepfake detection. (MIT Technology Review)
The NFT is dead. Long live the NFT? (The New York Times)
Palantir is teaming up with Shield AI on AI-powered autonomous aircraft. (Bloomberg)
About Us
Thanks for reading The Future of Everything. We cover the innovation and tech transforming the way we live, work and play. This newsletter was written by Conor Grant. Get in touch with us at future@wsj.com.
See more from The Future of Everything at wsj.com/foe.
