6 Mar, 2026 – The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) has launched the Commission on U.S. Quantum Primacy (CUSP), a new bipartisan body designed to produce a national strategy for keeping the United States ahead in quantum technologies. SCSP frames the effort not as a narrow science-policy exercise, but as a broader push to connect quantum innovation with national security, economic strength, and long-term technological advantage.
CUSP is co-chaired by SCSP president Ylli Bajraktari and Senators Todd Young and Ben Ray Luján. The 14-member commission brings together leaders from Congress, DARPA, national laboratories, academia, and industry, including representatives from IonQ, IBM, Google Quantum AI, SandboxAQ, IQT, Los Alamos, Sandia, Quantum Corridor, Playground Global, and the University of Maryland.
According to SCSP, the commission will focus on three priorities: building a secure quantum industrial base, preserving U.S. information advantage through quantum-era algorithms and secure architectures, and accelerating the integration of quantum and classical systems for near-term operational use. It will also assess the current U.S. quantum ecosystem and produce a final report with policy recommendations.
One nuance worth noting: “quantum primacy” is being used here in the geopolitical sense of national leadership across the quantum stack, not in the older, narrower experimental sense tied to a benchmark computation. That framing aligns with SCSP’s broader memo-driven push for stronger federal coordination, more funding, tighter public-private alignment, and greater emphasis on quantum security and resilience.
Why it matters: the quantum race will not be won only by whoever posts the best lab demo. It will also be shaped by who builds the strongest ecosystem around talent, supply chains, secure deployment, and real-world integration. This commission is another sign that U.S. quantum policy is moving toward that broader strategic view.
