Governor Newsom signs quantum innovation bill at UC Berkeley
California's flag is planted at Berkeley as Governor Newsom signs a quantum innovation bill. Quantum Innovation Bill
In October 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 940 (AB 940), the Quantum Innovation Bill, at UC Berkeley's Campbell Hall. The law seeks to strengthen California's “epicenter of global innovation” status and leadership in quantum computing and the quantum economy. In the signing ceremony, UC Berkeley was positioned as a leader in making the Bay Area and California a hub for this dynamic economy.
Strategic Trillion-Dollar Industry Push
AB 940 aims to maintain California's technical leadership, establish a strong talent pipeline, and expand R&D possibilities in a potential $1 trillion sector. The law promotes economic growth and job creation. AB 940 mandates a comprehensive strategy framework for the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. This approach supports state-wide quantum economy growth by turning basic quantum research into industry output. The bill creates “Quantum Innovation Zones” as a key instrument. Multiple cities or counties may compose these zones. They must identify programs and plans that maximize public and private funds to expand the quantum computing economy and create jobs. In addition to legislative action, Governor Newsom offered $4 million to encourage quantum research and innovation. Berkeley Quantum Launchpad UC Berkeley, a leading quantum research institution in California, held the signing ceremony. According to Chancellor Rich Lyons, “Berkeley is thrilled and honored to be the launchpad for ‘Quantum California,’” which could advance drug discovery, cybersecurity, scientific simulations, new materials, and other massive computing problems. The fall opening of UC Berkeley's "Quantum Nexus" at the former Masonic Temple in downtown Berkeley is another example of maximizing its strengths. Researchers, students, executives, and policymakers interested in quantum physics are invited to collaborate. The Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, funded by the National Science Foundation, will lead the Quantum Nexus state-wide by coordinating research and education across academic powerhouses like UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Caltech, Stanford, and soon the California State University system. Lyons stressed the need of making quantum information “the engine for the next major technical revolution” in California and worldwide.
A Future Tech Tour
Governor Newsom toured three quantum computing labs in Campbell Hall and chatted with reporters. Irfan Siddiqi, physics department chair, showed Newsom his facility. Siddiqi gave the governor a centimeter-sized quantum processor with several dozen "qubits," the quantum bits utilized in quantum computers. Siddiqi, who studies solid-state qubits, said the proposal might generate a "Quantum Valley" like Silicon Valley. He said the bill helps firms stay in California by using the state's tremendous resources.
Newsom learned about the challenges of building quantum systems in Professor of Physics Dan Stamper-Kurn's lab, including cooling single-atom qubits to 10 millionths of a degree above absolute zero. “Science fiction is now real,” Stamper-Kurn told the Governor, describing the rapid advancement. Materials scientist Alp Sipahigil studied the “next generation of quantum computers”. Sipahigil stressed that new physics-engineering courses are needed to train a quantum workforce in chip design and quantum mechanics. Quantum Shift Definition Computing is just one quantum economy aspect. The quantum economy includes secure telecommunications and innovative sensors that use the quantum nature of light and particles. Quantum computers use entangled quantum bits (qubits) to perform calculations that digital computers cannot.