Today’s agreement – the very first of its kind anywhere in the UK – is an important first step for more investment and jobs across the West of England and the Mountain West region of the United States (Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming). Areas of cooperation to drive growth include aligning academic research with industry needs, integrating supply chains, and supporting scale-up quantum businesses.
This transatlantic agreement follows the first ever Tech Prosperity Deal signed between the UK and US in September, which saw a record-breaking £280 billion of new investment committed by British and American firms. Among them were NVIDIA, a key partner in developing the £225 million Isambard-AI, the country’s most powerful supercomputer and the world’s fastest university-based supercomputer, with the University of Bristol and HPE at the NCC and Bristol & Bath Science Park. It also builds on January's UK-Colorado deal to increase trade, strengthen business links, and enhance academic ties to boost research.
By forging direct ties between the two regions, a new 'Quantum Growth Bridge' aims to accelerate investment in advanced, quantum computing and technologies. Senior representatives from the Colorado and New Mexico quantum sectors visited the West of England today to sign the agreement, joined by the region's Mayor and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol.
During their visit, the US delegates toured world-leading research facilities in Bristol, including the University of Bristol's Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre (QTIC), which helps early-stage entrepreneurs and start-up companies to become commercially viable. Backed by £35 million of funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, QTIC is currently at pilot stage and will be boosted next year when the University of Bristol's new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus opens with 38,000 square metres of space for education, innovation and collaboration – alongside a third incubator from Science Creates, the city’s pioneering deep tech ecosystem, which is a joint venture with the university.
Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, said: "This agreement is a major vote of confidence in the region's quantum expertise, building on the University’s proud history and reputation for ground-breaking research and innovation in quantum technologies. With over 150 world-leading quantum researchers, we have supported the launch of many spinouts which are helping to deliver secure telecommunications, reducing reliance on broad-spectrum antibiotics in healthcare, combat climate change and more.
"I'm excited to see how this partnership with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and Elevate Quantum will benefit researchers and students, supercharging our work to translate breakthroughs made in the lab into real world solutions for business and society."
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: "Digital and tech job growth here in the West has led the way over the last decade – stronger than any other region, including London. These foundations have helped secure this cutting-edge agreement to enable new investment and create new jobs. Working with Elevate Quantum, guided by our new Growth Strategy, we know that the best is yet to come.
"Advanced technologies being pioneered in the Mountain West and in the West of England are developing products and services that will help change the world, in everything from clean energy to healthcare. Researchers at both ends of our 4,600-mile-long 'quantum growth bridge' are now better connected to continue to lead the way in this exciting innovation. The future starts here."
Zach Yerushalmi, CEO of Elevate Quantum, said: "This agreement positions Colorado and New Mexico at the centre of a global quantum collaboration—linking our world-class researchers, companies, and innovators with the United Kingdom’s leading quantum ecosystem.
“By bridging Colorado’s federally designated Tech Hub with Bristol’s pioneering quantum cluster, we’re unlocking new opportunities for investment, job creation, and technology commercialisation that will accelerate the Mountain West’s leadership in the Quantum Century."
Richard Hyde, His Majesty’s Consul General in Chicago, said: “This partnership between the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, the University of Bristol, and Elevate Quantum is another excellent example of the close collaboration between the UK and Colorado in advanced technology and innovation. It builds on the spirit of the new UK-US Technology Prosperity Agreement and the UK-Colorado Memorandum of Understanding, which put our shared expertise and resources to work in emerging fields like quantum and AI. Together, these collaborations are ensuring that innovation on both sides of the Atlantic delivers real benefits for people, businesses, and communities alike.”
The West's new Growth Strategy, launched in September by the Mayor and council leaders at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, sets out an ambition to create 72,000 new jobs across the board over the next ten years – including through work with Government to secure investment through international trade missions and national and international partnerships. The digital and tech sector now contributes £3.8 billion a year to the regional economy. An ambition to establish the UK's first AI Supercluster was bolstered last month when Lloyds Banking Group named Bristol as its AI Capital, something highlighted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Regional Investment Summit.
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Elevate Quantum is a consortium of more than 120 industry, investor, government, and academic institutions across three US states, and is the country’s first and only federally funded quantum tech hub. It is home to four Nobel Laureates in quantum physics, with more venture capital investment for the sector than in any other state. Elevate Quantum plans to activate more than $2 billion of private capital by 2030, and create more than 50 quantum startups and more than 10,000 quantum jobs over the next decade.
Today's agreement has been supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office's US Science and Technology Network, the Department for Business & Trade, the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, the UK Consulate General in Chicago, the Office of Colorado Governor Jared Polis, University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado School of Mines, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.