Insider Brief
- Four quantum companies—Infleqtion, Aliro, Tensora, and Bandelier Technologies—have selected New Mexico’s ABQ-Net, an open-access entanglement-based quantum network based in the United States, to develop and validate quantum networking, sensing, timing, and security technologies.
- ABQ-Net, created by Qunnect through Roadrunner Venture Studios with support from the New Mexico Technology and Innovation Office, provides companies with access to a live quantum networking testbed without requiring them to build specialized infrastructure, as part of the state’s more than $450 million investment in quantum development.
- The network will initially support projects including quantum-secure key generation, entanglement-based timing synchronization, quantum-enhanced geosensing and resilient defense and critical infrastructure applications, with plans to expand connectivity across New Mexico’s research, academic, and government institutions.
PRESS RELEASE — Four leading quantum companies have selected New Mexico’s ABQ-Net, the only open-access entanglement-based quantum network in the United States, to develop and validate next-generation security technologies. Launched through support from the New Mexico Technology and Innovation Office, ABQ-Net is part of the state’s over $450 million investment in quantum company creation. Infleqtion, Aliro, Tensora, and Bandelier Technologies are the first to commit to using the network.
Created by Brooklyn-based Qunnect through a contract with Roadrunner Venture Studios, ABQ-Net was built to bring in American founders by giving companies access to live quantum testing environments without requiring them to invest millions building specialized infrastructure themselves. The network’s physics-based security model offers unique protections classical networks can’t—which is ideal for companies building defense, enterprise, and security applications:
- Infleqtion is a global leader in quantum technology, delivering neutral atom solutions for quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security. Infleqtion will use ABQ-Net to explore leveraging atomic clocks and entangled particles to demonstrate ultra precise, highly secure timing synchronization over networks. Use cases for this research drive to immediate applications in defense and future potential applications ranging from finance to 6G networked telecommunications. “Infleqtion plans to use ABQ-Net’s testing ground to validate coherent networked quantum sensors synchronized via quantum timing to drive future applications from missile defense to autonomous systems,” said Matt Kinsella, Chief Executive Officer of Infleqtion.
- Tensora is exploring the use of quantum-inspired sensing technologies to detect subtle geological changes with unprecedented sensitivity. Tensora is developing new approaches for monitoring ground deformation, subsurface activity, and environmental change, supporting applications in natural hazard detection, infrastructure resilience, and resource management. “Tensora is focusing our work on ABQ-NET and its unique datasets to improve our geosensing capabilities and product offerings,” said Rob Moak, CEO of Tensora.
- Bandelier Technologies, a Santa Fe-based deep-tech company founded by former U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret and Harvard MBA Stephen Buchanan, develops quantum sensing hardware and AI for defense and critical infrastructure. The company is embedded in New Mexico’s national lab ecosystem through Los Alamos National Laboratory and the NM Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (LEEP) program and holds an “Awardable” designation in the DARPA ERIS Marketplace. “Bandelier will use ABQ-Net to explore how quantum entanglement and novel AI models can improve the resilience and security of defense and critical infrastructure networks,” said Buchanan.
- Aliro, a Harvard-born company backed by Cisco and Accenture, provides the software platform that enterprises and government agencies use to simulate, deploy, and operate entanglement-based quantum networks. “Aliro is demonstrating its AlirOS KeyGen stack using Qunnect’s entanglement distribution systems on the ABQ-Net fiber infrastructure. With this integration, we are demonstrating real-time entanglement-based secure key generation, which further validates our technology for real-world use by customers in defense, finance, and telecom,” said Michael Cubeddu, Co-Founder and CTO of Aliro.
“Beyond supporting today’s innovators, ABQ-Net is also laying the foundation for securing New Mexico’s critical infrastructure,” said Noel Goddard, CEO of Qunnect, creator of ABQ-Net. “The same technology that enables advanced research and innovation today will also help deliver a new generation of secure communications and resilient networks for governments, utilities, businesses, and communities in the years ahead.”
Qunnect has already deployed quantum networks on two continents, enabled by its proprietary Carina hardware, via quantum networks in New York, Berlin, and across the United States. The company’s flagship GothamQ connects NYU, Columbia University, Stony Brook University, and Brookhaven National Laboratory over existing New York City fiber.
“ABQ-Net is the connective tissue for New Mexico’s quantum ecosystem, connecting our national laboratories, colleges and universities, and technology companies,” said Rob Black, Secretary of Economic Development. “We’re already seeing companies choose New Mexico because of ABQ-Net, which is exactly the kind of long-term return we hoped this investment would deliver for New Mexicans.”
In August 2025, the New Mexico Economic Development Department selected Roadrunner Venture Studios to lead an initiative accelerating quantum innovation, including the creation of ABQ-Net. The first two anchor nodes are located at Qunnect‘s downtown Albuquerque office and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), a Department of Energy-funded facility operated by Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. ABQ-Net will deepen economic and workforce development while strengthening New Mexico’s long-term security and resilience goals. The network is positioned to expand, connecting other entities across Albuquerque including Air Force Research Lab, University of New Mexico, and Central New Mexico Community College.
