Members of Team Illinois (Illinois EDC Chairman John Atkinson, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Kristin Richards, IQMP CEO Harley Johnson, Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois EDC President and CEO Christy George, and Illinois Rep. Kam Buckner) pose with Zero Point Cryogenics leadership, Chris Cassin and John P. Davis.
Illinois EDC and P33 helped bring the world’s quantum leaders to Chicago—and the state came away with new investment, new partners, and fresh proof that it’s becoming a global center of the industry.
Illinois EDC President and CEO Christy George gave opening remarks at GQF26, welcoming the 800+ attendees to the forum and emphasizing Illinois’ role as an industry leader.
More than 800 of the world’s foremost quantum leaders, Fortune 500 executives, researchers, and policymakers converged in downtown for the second annual Global Quantum Forum (GQF26) from July 21-23.
Themed “Solving Grand Challenges,” the forum—co-hosted by P33 and Illinois EDC and presented by Ernst & Young LLP—explored how quantum technologies can take on some of society’s toughest problems, from cybersecurity and clean energy to drug discovery. As the centerpiece of TechChicago Week 2026, GQF26 once again put Illinois at the heart of the global quantum conversation.
All-Star Lineup
Over two days, more than 60 speakers took the stage, including Governor JB Pritzker, tech journalist Kara Swisher, former U.S. Commerce Secretary and P33 co-founder Penny Pritzker, Microsoft Executive Vice President Jason Zander, Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar, Exelon President and CEO Calvin Butler, Infleqtion CEO Matthew Kinsella, and WNBA Hall of Famer Candace .
Discussion topics spanned investing in quantum, the potential of quantum for supply chain optimization, cryptography, quantum site selection, quantum governance, and quantum’s possibilities for energy and scientific discovery.
A highlight from the forum was Gov. Pritzker and Kara Swisher’s fireside chat about how Illinois is staking its claim in the global quantum computing race.
Governor Pritzker emphasized the state’s commitment to quantum: “Where do we have a right to win here in Illinois? One thing we’ve not taken enough advantage of is that we have some of the great scientific institutions in the country. Some great companies too. The government of the state has never been an aggregator of those things. Back in the early ‘90s the University of Illinois was the central focus of the web. The university was vitally important. But businesses were not grown here in Illinois. There was no policy or endeavor by the state, or anybody really, to keep it in Illinois. You’ve got to nurture these things. Where can we have the [state] government be a partner in creating industry here for the future so we don’t miss the opportunity we missed in the 1990s? The answer is quantum.”
Tech journalist Kara Swisher took part in a private roundtable with leaders of Illinois’ quantum ecosystem, including Wolverine Trading’s Robert Bellick, Infleqtion’s Pranav Gokhale, PritzkerTraubert Foundation’s Andrew Beideman, University of Chicago’s Samir Mayekar, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Rashid Bashir, P33’s Tifair Hamed, Clayco’s Michael Fassnacht, AnitaB.org’s Brenda Darden-Wilkerson, the Chicago Network’s Phyllis Lockett, Ernst & Young LLP’s Tim Liston, and Illinois EDC Chairman John Atkinson.
Some Illinois leaders followed up with Kara after the fireside chat for a private roundtable discussion, during which Kara expressed her excitement for Illinois’ role as a leader in the burgeoning industry.
Following the forum, Kara mentioned Illinois’ “impressive” efforts to lead the quantum tech boom on her popular podcast, PIVOT.
Signature Events
Beyond the main stage, Illinois EDC and Team Illinois hosted a series of events designed to showcase the state and spark new connections:
- Quantum in Illinois Media Briefing at the Hubbard Inn: Illinois EDC hosted an off-the-record media briefing and reception at the Hubbard Inn to kick off the week’s festivities. The event featured a panel from some of Illinois’ top quantum leaders, including Illinois EDC’s Preeti Chalsani, Infleqtion’s Pranav Gokhale, EeroQ’s Nick Farina, Chicago Quantum Exchange’s Emily Easton, Northwestern University’s Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano, University of Chicago’s Nadya Mason, IQMP’s Brian DeMarco, Chicago State University’s Z Scott, Fermilab’s Silvia Zorzetti, and Diraq’s Andre Saraiva. Following the panel, reporters connected informally with the leaders for source-building, story ideas, and background on the state’s emerging role as a global quantum leader.
Some of Illinois’ top quantum leaders spoke on an off-the-record panel for journalists at Illinois EDC’s Global Quantum VIP Reception.
- Global Quantum VIP Reception: An invitation-only gathering that brought forum speakers, international delegates, and industry executives together for high-level conversation. The reception featured a fireside chat from former U.S. Commerce Secretary and P33 co-founder Penny Pritzker and Microsoft Executive Vice President Jason Zander.
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Attendees of the Illinois Networking Reception take a group selfie.
Quantum in Illinois Networking Reception: Illinois EDC hosted a reception at the Prudential Plaza’s Rooftop Terrace and Lounge, connecting founders, researchers, public-sector leaders, and enterprise partners from across the ecosystem.
- Building the Quantum Future: A Hard-Hat Tour of the IQMP at Quantum Shore Chicago: The IQMP, PsiQuantum, Related Midwest, and Clayco hosted tours of the IQMP, showing off the incredible progress of the site’s construction.
The IQMP, PsiQuantum, Related Midwest, and Clayco hosted VIP tours of the IQMP.
Major Announcements
Illinois’ quantum ecosystem announced a wave of good news throughout the week.
- The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) welcomed Zero Point Cryogenics and Ability Engineering Technology as the first two tenants of its FaQtory.
- The IQMP also signed a landmark MOU with Japan’s Q-STAR, opening the door for more than 160 Japanese companies—including Toshiba, NEC, and Hitachi—to plug into Illinois’ thriving ecosystem.
- IQMP tenant Infleqtion announced the opening of the Chicago Quantum Innovation Center to expand its work on quantum computing applications as it deepens its commitment to Illinois.
- PsiQuantum, the IQMP’s anchor tenant, secured an expanded $125M agreement with DARPA to advance its efforts in quantum computing, with new infrastructure investment flowing to its Chicago facility.
- The Chicago Quantum Exchange–led Bloch Quantum Tech Hub was awarded $30M from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
- Illinois was featured prominently in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission—its national initiative to accelerate AI-driven science—with projects affiliated with Infleqtion, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Fermilab, and Argonne National Laboratory receiving funding.
- P33 and Illinois EDC welcomed the inaugural cohort of the Global Quantum Forum Fellowship, bringing rising quantum leaders from across research, industry, and policy to Illinois. Fellows hailed from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Bottom Line
Illinois EDC Chairman John Atkinson poses with Gov. Pritzker, PsiQuantum’s Susan Kim and Pete Shadbolt.
Events like The Global Quantum Forum matter because they build cross-cultural connections, excitement, and Illinois’ reputation as a global hub for innovation and investment.
GQF26 would not have been possible without partnerships. Illinois EDC extends its thanks to the following GQF26 sponsors:
- Presenting Sponsor: Ernst & Young LLP
- Lead Sponsor: ComEd
- Major Sponsors: JLL, Infleqtion, IBM, PsiQuantum, Clayco, Related Midwest, Quantum Shore Chicago
- Quantum Sponsors: Bank of America, Merrill, Microsoft, JPMorganChase, Constellation, AbbVie
- Emerging Sponsors: BDO, Google, memQ, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest, Optiver, Northern Trust, UL Solutions, The Comer Science & Education Foundation, IonQ
- Supporting Organizations: Q-STAR, Japan External Trade Organization
Illinois EDC set up a booth at GQF26, talking one-on-one with attendees about Illinois’ offerings for growing businesses.
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