Insider Brief
- Tennessee is assembling a full-stack quantum ecosystem anchored in Chattanooga, where EPB’s commercial quantum network, trapped-ion hardware, and a new $22 million Quantum Center are converging with university research and federal investment.
- Governor Bill Lee’s $20 million proposed budget allocation to a new Tennessee Quantum Initiative, paired with $4 million in NIST-backed workforce funding and bipartisan federal advocacy from the state’s congressional delegation, signals a coordinated state-level commitment few peers can match.
- The CO.LAB Quantum Activation Series, launching in March 2026, aims to extend that momentum statewide, connecting researchers and entrepreneurs across Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, and beyond to the commercial infrastructure already in place. A separate Vanderbilt-hosted quantum forum in Nashville on April 9 will connect Tennessee’s quantum story to national investor and policy networks.
- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has committed $9.6 million to quantum research and infrastructure, became the first U.S. university connected to a commercial quantum network, and is now recruiting a Governor’s Chair Professor in Quantum Information Science and Engineering, a joint appointment with Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed to anchor the next phase of the region’s quantum growth.
Quantum technology does not follow the usual script for regional economic development. There is not always a ribbon-cutting on a single campus that marks the moment a state “becomes” a quantum hub. Instead, the pattern tends to be structural – a sequence of investments, institutional commitments, and policy decisions that, taken together, cross a threshold.
Tennessee is approaching that threshold now. And the convergence is broad: a sitting governor proposing $20 million for a new quantum initiative, a $22 million partnership between EPB and IonQ to build a first-of-its-kind quantum computing and networking hub, a new Vanderbilt-EPB Institute for Quantum Innovation, the renewal of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s position at the center of federal quantum research, and a statewide commercialization series preparing to connect those assets to a broader base of entrepreneurs and applied researchers.
None of this happened overnight. But the pace has accelerated considerably over the past twelve months.
The Chattanooga Gigabit Play
The story begins with infrastructure.
Chattanooga earned a reputation more than a decade ago as a fiber-optic pioneer. EPB, the city-owned utility, deployed one of the nation’s first citywide gigabit networks, a move that reshaped Chattanooga’s economic identity and attracted a generation of tech startups. A peer-reviewed economic impact study conducted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga estimated that EPB’s fiber optic network and automated electric grid have generated $5.3 billion in community benefit since 2010, supporting the creation of more than 10,400 jobs. The study projects an additional $5 billion in benefit by 2035, including up to $1 billion from quantum initiatives alone.
That network has since become the backbone of something more ambitious. In 2022, EPB launched the first commercially available quantum network in the United States, built on its existing fiber infrastructure. In April 2025, EPB and IonQ announced a $22 million partnership to establish the EPB Quantum Center, housing an IonQ Forte Enterprise trapped-ion system and expanding the network’s capabilities for commercial and research use. The center is expected to be operational in early 2026.
“By establishing Chattanooga as the first U.S. hub for quantum computing and networking, we stand ready to work with companies and researchers across the nation,” EPB CEO David Wade said at the time of the announcement. Wade has described the broader ambition in characteristically direct terms: “We think it’s going to make a huge difference in our community and across our state.”
The combination matters. Quantum computing and quantum networking are typically treated as separate development tracks. Chattanooga is integrating both on a single municipal platform, creating a live testbed for applications in grid security, logistics, and communications. EPB has since partnered with NVIDIA to install classical computing infrastructure alongside its quantum systems, enabling hybrid quantum-classical research. During QWC25, EPB, IonQ, and NVIDIA also announced plans to develop joint applications.
“By making a comprehensive suite of quantum development resources accessible as a real-world platform for innovation,” Wade said, “we’re making it possible for entrepreneurs, industry leaders, national labs and universities to work side-by-side toward breakthroughs.”
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has been connected to the EPB Quantum Network since 2023, the first university node on a commercial quantum network in the country. UTC has since committed $9.6 million to quantum research and infrastructure, including $6.6 million in external funding, building capacity for applied research in quantum communications, sensing, and workforce training.
UTC is also recruiting for a Governor’s Chair Professor in Quantum Information Science and Engineering, a joint appointment with Oak Ridge National Laboratory that underscores the depth of the university’s quantum commitment. Established through a program funded by the state of Tennessee and ORNL, the position aims to attract a leading researcher to expand collaboration across the Chattanooga quantum ecosystem.
Applications can be submitted by visiting this link.
University Commitments Deepen
In December 2025, Vanderbilt University and EPB announced the formation of the Institute for Quantum Innovation, a partnership that will bring Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and graduate students to a new academic research campus in Chattanooga. Pending accreditation approvals, the institute will focus on quantum communication, sensing, secure energy networks, and graduate-level education, with access to the EPB Quantum Center’s trapped-ion quantum computer and photonics-based local quantum network.
“From cybersecurity to energy distribution to medicine and science of all kinds, the potential for quantum innovation to improve our lives is enormous,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. EPB Board Chair Vicky Gregg framed the partnership as a vehicle for translating research into regional economic opportunity: “This collaboration brings together Vanderbilt’s deep expertise in quantum research and graduate education with EPB’s unique quantum infrastructure to create an environment where world-class ideas can move quickly from the lab to real-world applications.”
The announcement drew endorsements across the political spectrum. Governor Lee called it a demonstration of Tennessee’s commitment to leading the nation in emerging technologies. Senator Marsha Blackburn described the institute as further proof that Tennessee is ready to lead in quantum. Senator Bill Hagerty called quantum technology a pivotal component of national security and innovation. And Representative Chuck Fleischmann, who chairs the Energy and Water Appropriations committee, framed the institute as a vehicle for protecting critical infrastructure and building a world-class workforce.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly put it in local terms: “Quantum has the potential to define Chattanooga’s economic future.”
That kind of bipartisan, multi-level political alignment around a single technology cluster is notable.
State-Level Commitment
On February 2, 2026, Governor Lee used his eighth and final State of the State address to propose $20 million in his budget for the newly formed Tennessee Quantum Initiative. The allocation is pending legislative approval. The proposed funding is intended to accelerate the state’s quantum computing industry by attracting federal and private-sector investment and translating scientific strengths into high-wage job creation across advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and logistics.
The same day, EPB disclosed a separate $4 million federal investment from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support quantum workforce development in Chattanooga, including a new Quantum Computing Fellowship program designed to provide training and real-world experience for participants developing quantum solutions. IonQ is providing workforce and community development services as part of the fellowship program, in connection with the broader $22 million EPB-IonQ partnership.
The governor’s proposed investment also builds on Tennessee’s existing strengths in energy and nuclear technology. The same budget included $25 million for the Nuclear Energy Fund and $3 million for next-generation academies at Tennessee Tech focused on nuclear and cyber technologies. Tennessee appears to be constructing a deliberate corridor connecting quantum, nuclear, and advanced energy, three sectors that increasingly overlap in both research and industrial application.
The Federal Landscape Aligns
Tennessee’s state-level moves are landing at a moment when federal quantum policy is accelerating on multiple fronts.
In November 2025, the Department of Energy announced $625 million to renew its five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, including the Quantum Science Center headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The five-year renewal reaffirmed ORNL’s position at the center of the federal quantum research enterprise. ORNL’s quantum portfolio has expanded considerably in recent months, including a partnership with NVIDIA, HPE, and IonQ on hybrid quantum-AI-HPC integration and the installation of a Quantum Brilliance diamond-based quantum computer at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, the first on-site commercial quantum system at the lab. An IonQ-ORNL collaboration has also demonstrated quantum-classical hybrid computing applied to power grid optimization, a use case with direct relevance to Tennessee’s energy infrastructure.
On the legislative side, in January 2026, Senators Todd Young and Maria Cantwell introduced the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, seeking nearly $1.5 billion in five-year funding for quantum R&D. Senator Blackburn, a co-sponsor and one of the most active members of Congress on quantum policy, has introduced multiple pieces of quantum legislation across recent sessions, including the Defense Quantum Acceleration Act, the Quantum LEAP Act, and the National Quantum Cybersecurity Migration Strategy Act. Her advocacy has consistently centered Tennessee’s quantum assets, particularly EPB, ORNL, and the Chattanooga ecosystem, in the national conversation.
At the executive level, the White House is reportedly preparing a sweeping executive order on quantum technology. A draft order reported by Nextgov/FCW, dated February 3, 2026, would task the Office of Science and Technology Policy with establishing a whole-of-government vision for quantum innovation, including a federally backed quantum computer for scientific applications hosted at a DOE facility, five-year agency roadmaps for quantum sensing and networking, and updated timelines for post-quantum cryptographic migration.
The National Science Foundation has also announced a $100 million investment to establish the National Quantum and Nanotechnology Infrastructure program, a network of up to 16 open-access research sites across the country designed to provide universities, small businesses, and community colleges with shared access to advanced fabrication and characterization tools. Tennessee institutions, with their existing quantum infrastructure, are well positioned to compete for site designations.
Taken together, the federal signals are clear: quantum is moving from research priority to industrial policy. States that have already assembled the infrastructure, workforce pipelines, and institutional partnerships to absorb federal investment will capture disproportionate value.
Extending the Ecosystem Statewide
Against this backdrop, two upcoming events aim to extend the Chattanooga-anchored ecosystem in different but complementary directions.
The CO.LAB Quantum Activation Series, backed by a Launch Tennessee grant, is a three-event series connecting quantum researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry partners across the state. The first event is scheduled for March 12 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Wolford Center. A second follows on April 10 at Middle Tennessee State University (a third location is still to be confirmed). The series is positioned as a commercialization bridge, translating research into economic impact by connecting academic work to industry needs and entrepreneurial pathways. It draws on partners including the Chattanooga Quantum Collective, EPB, UTC, Tennessee Tech, and MTSU.
The timing makes sense. With state funding proposed, federal investment flowing, and institutional partnerships in place, the activation series represents an effort to widen the aperture, ensuring that the quantum opportunity extends beyond Chattanooga to universities and entrepreneurs across Tennessee.
On April 9, a different kind of convening takes shape. Vanderbilt University will host a daylong quantum forum at the Grand Hyatt Nashville, co-hosted by Quantum Coast Capital and presented by The Quantum Insider. Running from 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM, the event was initiated at the request of Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier following Quantum Coast Capital’s successful convening in South Florida last year.
Where the CO.LAB series is focused on statewide commercialization and entrepreneurship, the Nashville forum is oriented toward institutional and investor audiences. It connects Tennessee’s quantum story to the capital and policy networks that will ultimately determine how the sector scales. Matt Cimaglia, founder and managing partner of Quantum Coast Capital, has been a leading voice on the intersection of quantum commercialization and regional economic development, most recently authoring an analysis of Florida’s emerging role in the quantum economy for The Quantum Insider. His involvement signals that investors with deep quantum sector knowledge see Tennessee as a credible and growing market.
Final Thoughts
Tennessee is assembling a quantum hub, piece by piece, using a combination of municipal infrastructure, federal anchors, university partnerships, state capital, and private-sector tenancy that together form something more durable than any single announcement.
The pattern is familiar from other successful technology corridors: infrastructure first, then institutions, then capital, then talent. What distinguishes Tennessee is the speed at which those layers have stacked, and the degree of political alignment supporting them, from the governor’s office to the U.S. Senate.The first CO.LAB Quantum Activation Series event takes place March 12 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Wolford Center. The Vanderbilt-Quantum Coast Capital Quantum Forum will be held April 9 at the Grand Hyatt Nashville.
