While foundational quantum breakthroughs were born in American labs, achieving research success is not the same as building industrial capacity. Without prioritising a market and secure supply chains, the US risks licensing its own technology back, repeating the mistake made when semiconductor manufacturing migrated to Asia.

Two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump recognise quantum technology as a transformational capability and a national security priority. These orders aim to ignite a national effort to build fault-tolerant, utility-scale quantum computers capable of commercial work, countering adversaries who harvest encrypted data for future decryption.

Private capital is present through incumbents like Google, Microsoft, and IBM, but a strong demand signal is still missing. To solve this, the Department of Energy will become an early purchaser, and the Department of Commerce has signed letters of intent to put $2bn into nine quantum companies. Establishing an allied tech-trade order, such as the Pax Silica initiative, will help ensure domestic production and exclude Beijing from critical supply chains.