The race to command the growing quantum technology economy is intensifying, and global leadership is still up for grabs. As the sector shifts from scientific discovery to commercial deployment, its potential is closer than ever: accelerated drug discovery, provably secure communication, flight navigation that resists interference — and close to a trillion US dollars in projected worldwide economic impact by 2035. Regions that successfully establish themselves as world?leading quantum innovation zones stand to reap a host of rewards: access to life?altering innovations, economic growth that touches a wide range of sectors and communities, and new jobs at nearly every level.
Taiwan and the Midwestern United States are each remarkably well positioned: Taiwan with its world‑class semiconductor and precision hardware industries, and the U.S. Midwest with an integrated quantum technology ecosystem that stretches from lab to market.
This is a strategic moment for Taiwan and the U.S. Midwest to forge a cross‑regional alliance. By partnering in key areas, the two regions can accelerate the development of quantum technologies, grow the skilled workforce needed to sustain the sector, and co‑lead the global quantum economy.
The Quantum Prairie
The U.S. Midwest is a national and global leader in quantum science, technology, and innovation that is anchored by the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) and its partners across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Since the CQE’s founding in 2017, the Midwest region has become a globally recognized quantum research powerhouse fueled by deep cross‑sector partnerships aimed at advancing quantum research, building the future quantum workforce, and driving a robust quantum economy. It is home to more than 210 quantum researchers at world‑leading universities and national labs; four of the ten quantum research centers launched by the 2018 US National Quantum Initiative Act; more than two dozen quantum startups and Duality, the first quantum startup accelerator in the US; one of the nation’s longest quantum networks; and two CQE‑led federal initiatives: the U.S. Economic Development Administration‑designated Bloch Quantum Tech Hub and a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine development award, both aimed at transforming quantum science into scalable industries and regional growth engines. An Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park for quantum scale‑up will include the Illinois-DARPA Quantum Proving Ground applied research program; a shared cryogenic cooling facility; a production site from anchor tenant, PsiQuantum; and workforce development programs in partnership with the CQE. The State of Illinois has also announced a National Quantum Algorithm Center. Furthermore, the Chicago Quantum Summit annually brings quantum leaders from across the globe in a central opportunity to build new international partnerships. This year’s Chicago Quantum Summit will be held on November 3 and 4 in downtown Chicago. Combined, Midwestern assets offer an unparalleled opportunity to speed the development of innovations that address shared global challenges.
Strategies for Forging a Taiwan–Midwest Partnership to Lead the Global Quantum Economy
Partnerships between Taiwan and the U.S. Midwest could thrive by leveraging their respective research, manufacturing, and innovation strengths through joint strategies. Such efforts should develop integrated R&D pipelines that align university research, government support, and corporate applications to enable cross‑border talent development and technology translation. For example, a joint quantum manufacturing initiative could integrate Taiwan’s capabilities in materials and chip fabrication with the Midwest’s quantum research and startups to prototype components and systems for large-scale scaleup. Leveraging existing innovation pathways, Taiwanese quantum startups could join these platforms to scale their technologies and companies, co‑develop technologies with a robust set of research and industry partners, and provide a launching place to access the US markets.
Also, given global shared concerns about data security, sovereignty, and network integrity, partnerships could bring together existing quantum networking assets — the Midwest’s sc alable , metr opolit an ‑ sc ale quantum research, innovators, and fiber network and Taiwan’s expertise in precision components, chip manufacturing, and optical networks. A partnership to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of quantum key distribution, entanglement‑based communications and other quantum enabled secure information transfer innovations would be a valuable frontier for bilateral innovation.
Co-Leading the Quantum Future
Existing relationships between members of the Chicago Quantum Exchange and Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute could be the basis for such an alliance. National Taiwan University partnerships include those with the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. National Taiwan Normal University and UW-Madison Dual Degree Program enable NTNU master's students to study quantum computing physics at UW‑Madison; University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign partnership with National Cheng Kung University to advance quantum and photonics technology; and multiple Taiwan institutions, including National Tsing Hua University, NTU, National Cheng Kung University, Academia Sinica, and Hon Hai Research Institute partner on a UChicago-Taiwan Student Exchange Fellowship. At the government level, the State of Indiana and the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs have a memorandum of understanding outlining a vision for future collaboration and establishing a framework to work together. By focusing on bilateral research programs, startup co‑investments, and workforce exchange, both the US Midwest and Taiwan can leverage complementary resources to amplify existing strengths at a critical time. The potential result: a shared success that ultimately benefits, and serves as a model for, the world.
