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Occam Foundry, a planned 16.5-acre quantum technology commercialization campus in southeastern Travis County, has received a letter of support from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and signed an MOU with UT Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center focused on education, workforce development and joint funding. The moves strengthen Texas’ bid to build a quantum industry hub as federal deadlines for quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography loom.
Occam Foundry, a planned 16.5-acre quantum technology commercialization campus in southeastern Travis County, has received a letter of support from Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and signed a memorandum of understanding with UT Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). The dual endorsement, announced September 28, gives the privately developed project its most visible public-sector and academic backing to date, as Texas pushes to establish itself in a quantum technology sector where it currently lacks a federally designated research center.
Under the memorandum of understanding, The University of Texas at Austin, acting through TACC, supports the development of the campus in Austin, while Occam Foundry supports TACC’s quantum education and workforce programs. According to the announcement, the two organizations plan to explore joint education and workforce programming, including K-12 quantum education and professional development for teachers, and to pursue joint applications for federal, state and philanthropic funding. TACC has also agreed to make introductions on Occam Foundry’s behalf to other UT Austin units, including the Texas Quantum Initiative and the Cockrell School of Engineering.
Mayor Watson’s letter, dated September 10, welcomes the campus’s plan to open to Austin-area public school teachers and students, with classroom visits, teacher training and a pipeline into the trades and technical roles the facility will need. The mayor tied the project to the Texas Quantum Initiative, which the Texas Legislature created in 2025 under HB 4751. According to the announcement, the mayor’s office and the city’s economic development staff are working with Occam Foundry on site readiness and permitting.
Occam Foundry is being developed by Texas Quantum Partners, where Matt Cimaglia serves as Managing Member. The campus is intended to support quantum technology commercialization while connecting the sector with Texas’ existing energy, semiconductor and defense industries, anchored by the research base at UT Austin.
Texas’ Push to Catch the Quantum Race
The backing arrives against a compressed federal timeline. According to the announcement, two federal executive orders issued in June set a 2028 target for a scientific-scale quantum computer and deadlines of 2030 and 2031 for moving federal systems to post-quantum cryptography. Texas currently hosts none of the research centers created under the National Quantum Initiative Act, while states such as Illinois, Maryland and Colorado are converting theirs into companies and trained workers, according to the release.
For Austin, the project positions the city within a distributed national network of quantum hubs taking shape in New York, Maryland, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and Arizona. Unlike the single-region concentration of computing in Silicon Valley in the 1970s and 1980s, quantum capability is spreading across many regions at once — a structure the announcement argues strengthens both the economy and national security by placing computing, sensing and secure networking capability in several states. Occam Foundry would give Texas its node, built around industries the state already dominates.
From HB 4751 to a Campus Site
The Texas Legislature created the Texas Quantum Initiative in 2025 under HB 4751, establishing a statewide framework for quantum technology development. Mayor Watson framed Occam Foundry as a place where that initiative can deliver on its purpose. The project’s education-focused pitch is long-horizon: an Austin fifth grader today graduates high school in 2034, the announcement notes, just as the quantum systems, sensors and secure networks now being built reach the workforce that will operate them.
The TACC partnership builds on the computing center’s existing mandate in advanced computing infrastructure and workforce preparation. Occam Foundry, for its part, is one of several regional quantum hub projects emerging nationally, each drawing on local research and industry strengths rather than concentrating investment in a single corridor.
“Austin wants this project and Texas needs it. Other states built their clusters around a federal lab. Texas can build one around the industries it already owns, and give the Texas Quantum Initiative a place to deliver on its purpose.”
— Kirk Watson, Mayor of Austin
Open Questions on Funding and Construction
Several elements of the project remain undefined in the announcement. The memorandum of understanding is exploratory — joint education programming, teacher training and funding applications are described as plans to be explored, not commitments with stated budgets or timelines. No construction schedule, cost estimate, or tenant roster for the 16.5-acre campus was disclosed, and it is not yet clear when permitting and site readiness work with the city will conclude.
The financial terms of the city’s involvement, if any beyond staff support for permitting, were not specified. Whether the joint funding applications with TACC will succeed — and at what scale — is also unknown. The announcement did not identify which quantum companies or research groups have committed to locating at the campus.
Permitting, Programs and Partnerships Ahead
According to the announcement, the mayor’s office and Austin’s economic development staff will continue working with Occam Foundry on site readiness and permitting for the southeastern Travis County site. Occam Foundry and TACC are expected to begin developing their joint K-12 education and teacher professional development programming, and to prepare joint applications for federal, state and philanthropic funding.
TACC also plans introductions between Occam Foundry and other UT Austin units, including the Texas Quantum Initiative and the Cockrell School of Engineering, which could expand the partnership’s academic scope. Further announcements on campus tenants, construction milestones or funded programs would mark the next measurable steps for the project.
Key Questions
What is Occam Foundry?
Occam Foundry is a planned commercialization campus for quantum technology on 16.5 acres in southeastern Travis County, Texas. It is being developed by Texas Quantum Partners and is intended to connect quantum technology companies with Texas’ energy, semiconductor and defense industries.
What does the agreement with UT Austin cover?
The memorandum of understanding with UT Austin, acting through the Texas Advanced Computing Center, establishes mutual support. TACC backs the campus’s development in Austin, while Occam Foundry supports TACC’s quantum education and workforce programs. The two plan to explore K-12 quantum education, teacher professional development, and joint applications for federal, state and philanthropic funding.
What did Mayor Kirk Watson’s letter say?
In a letter dated September 10, Watson welcomed the campus’s plan to open to Austin-area public school teachers and students, including classroom visits, teacher training and pipelines into technical roles. He tied the project to the Texas Quantum Initiative created by the Legislature in 2025 under HB 4751.
Why is Texas pursuing this now?
According to the announcement, two federal executive orders issued in June set a 2028 target for a scientific-scale quantum computer and 2030-2031 deadlines for federal migration to post-quantum cryptography. Texas hosts none of the research centers created under the National Quantum Initiative Act, while states like Illinois, Maryland and Colorado have built clusters around theirs.
Has construction started on the campus?
The announcement did not disclose a construction schedule, cost estimate or tenants. City economic development staff and the mayor’s office are working with Occam Foundry on site readiness and permitting, but timelines for those steps have not been made public.
Source: rss
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