U.S. Army Brings National Quantum and Photonics Competition to Phoenix

By Kyle Macdonald, COO, Silicon Oasis

Phoenix played host to some of the country's leading quantum, photonics and defense technology companies as the U.S. Army brought the finals of its xTech|Phantum competition to Arizona.

Held July 21–24 at the Southwest Mission Acceleration Center (SWMAC), the event brought 16 finalist companies to Phoenix to pitch technologies with potential national security applications. Eight winners ultimately shared $200,000 in cash prizes and earned the opportunity to submit proposals for up to $300,000 each in Army Small Business Innovation Research funding.

But the significance for Arizona goes beyond hosting another defense technology event.

The competition comes as Phoenix works to establish itself as a national center for quantum technology. Mayor Kate Gallego addressed participants through a recorded message highlighting the city's recently launched Phoenix Quantum Strategy, while finalists also visited Arizona State University's Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub to see the region's microelectronics and hardware capabilities firsthand.

Throughout the week, Army leaders, founders and investors also discussed one of the biggest challenges facing dual-use startups: moving technology from the laboratory into commercial and defense markets.

I had the opportunity to participate in the event's Private Capital panel alongside Dr. Matt Willis of Army FUZE, Todd Yarter of Blue Marlin Partners and moderator Darian Harris of Connected Capital. Our discussion focused on commercialization and how private investment can help promising defense technologies scale alongside government funding.

That's an important conversation for Arizona.

We already have many of the ingredients needed to become a major defense and deep-tech ecosystem: semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace and defense, research universities, military installations, a growing startup community and organizations like SWMAC connecting those pieces.

Events like xTech|Phantum bring another piece into the equation: national technology companies and federal decision-makers coming directly to Arizona to build relationships and find solutions.

Since launching in 2018, the Army's xTech program has awarded more than $30 million in non-dilutive prizes across more than 50 competitions.

Having one of those competitions centered in Phoenix—and connecting participants directly into Arizona's research, capital and defense infrastructure—is another indication of the role the state can play in the next generation of national security technology.

For Silicon Oasis, that's exactly the kind of ecosystem we want to continue helping build.