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Ground-clearing work is underway Aug. 31 at the future site of Occam Foundry in Southeast Austin, south of the Colorado River and near Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas plant.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
As investors, Matt Cimaglia and \u00a0Alex Challans were always looking for the next big thing in technology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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But when they tried to invest in\u00a0quantum computing<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 one of the newest and potentially most promising technology sectors\u00a0\u2014 they found their money didn\u2019t go very far.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Google\u2019s \u201cWillow\u201d quantum computing chip is seen in a 2024 handout photo.<\/p>\n Google<\/p>\n \u201cIf we put a million dollars into a quantum company, the very frustrating thing is that half of that million immediately goes into something like renting space or equipment,\u201d Challans said. \u201cIf we invest in an AI startup, they could work for at least 18 months before they run out of money. Quantum can\u2019t commercialize without spaces with shared equipment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That challenge led Cimaglia to found Quantum Coast Capital and, with Challans, pursue a different kind of investment: building the infrastructure they say quantum companies need.<\/p>\n Cimaglia recently announced plans to build a quantum computing<\/a> campus in Southeast Austin not far from Tesla Inc.\u2019s sprawling Gigafactory Texas campus.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The goal is to bring infrastructure to the budding technology industry in Texas so quantum computing companies can thrive. The proposed campus, called Occam Foundry, would give quantum startups access to shared labs, manufacturing facilities and specialized equipment that backers say Texas lacks today.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quantum computing uses principles of quantum mechanics\u00a0\u2014 the physics governing matter and energy at very small scales\u00a0\u2014 to tackle certain complex problems. Quantum algorithms could enable quantum computers to outperform even the most powerful conventional computers on some tasks. Traditional computers use bits, which can represent either a zero or a one. Quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can represent a zero, a one or a combination of both.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Texas can lean into this, they will have a stranglehold of part of the quantum economy,\u201d Challans said. \u201cThey will have quantum devices, they\u2019ll have quantum manufacturing, quantum foundry, supply chain and more all in Texas. That means that when other industries change or fall away, they have a very strong position.\u201d<\/p>\n A water line marker sits at the future site of Occam Foundry in Southeast Austin on Aug. 31 near Tesla’s Gigafactory site. \u00a0<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n From data center to quantum campus\u00a0<\/p>\n Samara Real Property, which owns the area where\u00a0Occam Foundry will be built, approached\u00a0Cimaglia about building a quantum data center on the site. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been vocally against data centers,\u201d\u00a0Cimaglia said. \u201cIt\u2019s not because I think they\u2019re bad or because I need to wear a tinfoil hat if I\u2019m walking by one. It\u2019s more sort of this outdated model of a knee-jerk reaction as a result of what\u2019s happening today in AI.\u201d<\/p>\n But in\u00a0Challans and Cimaglia\u2019s eyes, the big problem is space to work, build and experiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the new Austin facility comes in.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone wants to ensure that the silicon revolution and AI revolution, which effectively happened in Silicon Valley, in California, isn\u2019t the same story for quantum,\u201d he said. \u201cTexas, being the eighth-largest economy in the world, has a fair share of its own research and working quantum. What it is significantly lacking is the infrastructure and public investment for making commercialization happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Occam Foundry is planned as a 16.5-acre campus near the Colorado River and\u00a0not far from the 2,600-acre Dog\u2019s Head development, where Amazon recently announced its plans to\u00a0build a robotics factory<\/a>. Across the highway at Gigafactory Texas, Tesla is also developing a robotics factory, doing advanced chip fabrication and operating its own computing centers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The new Occam Foundry campus would include about six buildings, one of which will serve as the headquarters for a yet-to-be-named company, Cimaglia said. He said memorandums of understanding have been signed with the company as plans for the project\u00a0await state incentives. \u00a0<\/p>\n The other buildings are to include\u00a0coworking spaces, a full-scale quantum chip-making facility, a research building, lab and event spaces. Cimaglia said he is in talks with the\u00a0University of Texas<\/a> to house some of the university\u2019s quantum and advanced computing classes on the campus.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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