The breakthroughs accelerating the growth of California's quantum innovation ecosystem depend on fundamental science and engineering from Caltech and other academic institutions, according to Caltech leaders and researchers who spoke at the statewide Quantum California Convening last month.
Quantum California is a partnership between the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and the University of California Office of the President (UCOP).
The initiative was launched in November 2025 to align academia, researchers, national labs, industry, investors, and government partners around a shared ecosystem for quantum innovation and job creation.
"For California, this creates opportunities to bring more skilled people into the region and connect university research with industrial development," Ooguri said.
"Our focus at JPL is leaning toward quantum sensing, but we also contribute to quantum computing, such as MKIDs for qubit readout and quantum communication such as Deep Space Optimal Communications.