A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships: Building the U.S. Quantum Ecosystem with Booz Allen
“We’ve proven we can build quantum computers. The question now is how we scale them—and that demands a mature supply chain.”
At Quantum World Congress 2025, Booz Allen took the main stage to lead a timely discussion on the future of America’s quantum economy. The session, titled A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships: Building the U.S. Quantum Ecosystem to Strengthen the Global Quantum Economy, was moderated by John Paul Sawyer, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance, and featured a powerhouse panel: JD Dulny, Vice President for Quantum at Booz Allen; John Levy, CEO of SEEQC; and Justin Cohen, Program Manager with DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office.
Building an interconnected ecosystem
Sawyer opened the conversation with a clear message: no single country, company, or university can solve the challenges of quantum on its own. True progress, he argued, depends on connectivity—among private sector innovators, government agencies, and international allies. That theme of interdependence ran throughout the discussion, as each panelist underscored the importance of building a shared supply chain that can move quantum beyond one-off demonstrations and into mission-ready systems.
From prototype to production
Levy described SEEQC’s work to integrate the functionality of a quantum computer onto a single chip—an effort designed to scale manufacturing while also addressing energy efficiency. He stressed that scaling quantum technology will require a shift away from vertically integrated models toward a diverse supplier network capable of producing components at commercial quality. “We’ve proven we can build quantum computers,” Levy noted. “The question now is how we scale them—and that demands a mature supply chain.”
Cohen offered the government’s perspective, outlining how DARPA is investing in programs that support both fundamental advances and supply chain resilience. He emphasized the need for partnerships that allow companies to specialize, while pooling demand for critical manufacturing capabilities. Cohen also highlighted DARPA’s new HARK program, which explores integrating different quantum modalities into more powerful hybrid systems.
A mission-driven approach
“We are obsessed with getting quantum closer to mission. That’s what matters—building technology that delivers real-world impact.”
For Dulny, the key is keeping “mission” at the center of quantum innovation. Booz Allen, he explained, is focused on getting quantum technology closer to solving the real problems faced by clients—from defense to commercial sectors. He cautioned that while quantum computing, sensing, and networking each hold promise, progress will come only if the ecosystem builds deliberately around practical use-cases. “We are obsessed with getting things closer to mission,” Dulny said. “That’s what matters.”
Lessons from AI
The panel also drew comparisons to artificial intelligence, another field now wrestling with scale. Dulny noted that the quantum community can learn from AI’s challenges around compute infrastructure and energy demands. He argued that anticipating those needs now—particularly the coupling of classical and quantum systems—will help quantum avoid bottlenecks later. Levy pointed to SEEQC’s work integrating QPUs and GPUs with partners like NVIDIA as a model for what heterogeneous computing might look like in the future.
Looking ahead
As the session closed, the panelists returned to a shared conclusion: the U.S. quantum ecosystem is strong, but its continued success depends on collaboration, specialization, and smart public–private investment. By working across industry, government, and academia—and by forging ties with allies abroad—the U.S. can not only scale its own capabilities but also reinforce the resilience of the global quantum economy.
