US Begins $1 Billion Quantum Computing Plan to Challenge ‘Adversaries’

(CNET) The US government is establishing 12 new research centers, funded with hundreds of millions of dollars, to boost artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Congress already has appropriated most of the funds for the projects. But the White House on Wednesday is detailing what work will be done, the names of the labs and universities that competed to house the 12 centers and the reasons it believes the two technologies are so important for the US economy and national security.
The idea is to link government, private and university research to accelerate key areas in the US. It’s the same recipe used for earlier US technology triumphs like the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb in World War II, the Apollo program to send humans to the moon and the military-funded effort to establish what became the internet.
“The US will continue to be the home for the next great advancements in technology,” US Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios told reporters. “We know our adversaries are pursuing their own advancements.”