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Dear QLeapers + Friends,
Hope February is treating you well! Now, please fasten your mind's seat belts—we’re about to go superposition-level fast with some whirlwind updates:
A Cat Walks Into A Bar...
Still soaked in the splash from DeepSeek (whose logo, in case you missed it, is a whale 🐋)? Well, there’s a new kid... uh, no... kitten in AI town—Le Chat (French for “The Cat”). Although it is not necessrily the brightest, it's certainly lightening fast!
As a former startup founder who lived through the Dot-Com boom—and its inevitable Ctrl+Alt+Del moment—I can’t shake the déjà vu (wait, is there a black cat in there? ;-) While a few will laugh all the way to the bank, most others may languish over their portfolio. But hey, out of creative destruction comes innovation, and IMHO it will be just the same this time around...
Meanwhile, Schrödinger’s Cat Is...
...still alive and kicking in Chitown—In fact it’s thriving in all possible states at once:
🐾 $1 Bn Private Investment & Job Creation – PsiQuantum, a QC startup from the Silicon Valley, is dropping a cool—extremely cool, like dozens of milli-kelvin cool—billion dollars to build a 300,000-sqft quantum campus, anchoring a new Quantum & Microelectronics Park right in the middle between the Loop and PNW on the lake front.
🐾 $500 Mn in State Funding – Illinois is doubling down on qubits, including $200 million just for PsiQuantum’s cryogenic cooling plant. Apparently absolute 0 Kelvin is the new hot!
🐾 $140 Mn Federal Boost – DARPA is investing $140 million to establish a quantum-testing facility. When the agency that birthed the internet backs your gig, expect a ‘network effect’ that’s truly big!
🐾 IBM will establish the National Quantum Algorithm Center in collaboration with Illinois and local universities. It's a powerhouse initiative to pioneer hybrid quantum-classical computing with IBM’s Quantum System Two to solve complex problems.
And what does all this mean? Our region is now:
✨ #1 in federal quantum funding
✨ #2 in quantum venture capital deals
✨ #2 in quantum PhD completions
But Wait...Quantum Isn’t Just for PhDs!
Think you need a doctorate to dive into quantum? Think again! A recent article highlights how quantum tech is exploding with well-paying jobs, and most don’t even require a graduate degree. (Read more here!)
Which brings me to...
...2 New Quantum Courses @PNW This Fall!
Course 1: Intro to Quantum Computing
For those students who want to develop their skills to harness the power of qubits...
Course 2: Our Quantum Future: An Introduction
For non-STEM majors—especially those pursuing a business and management career, because quantum isn’t just about physics or computing, it is now touching on and transforming all walks of life in our society.
If you’re interested but haven’t pre-registered (or if you have but still want to nudge the spacetime fabric in favor of better class times), please do Pre-register ASAP (or tell us what class times would work best) to avoid them being cancelled due to low interests. Better still, please help spread the word if you can!
...And Lastly, Our Next QC Workshop
As a headstart, we’ve been entangling minds since the beginning of the semester with our Weekly QC Workshop!
Missed any of the last four? No worries—I’ve uploaded slides up to Qubit along with the agenda for our next session on 2/14. Because nothing says Valentine’s Day like discussing superposition, entanglement, and the heartbreak of decoherence... Hope to see you there!
Quantumly Yours,
Shawn
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