National Growth Fund funds quantum and AI research agendas

The Quantum Delta NL consortium and the AiNed program have been awarded 615 million and 276 million euros, respectively, by the National Growth Fund. Set up by the Dutch cabinet to boost R&D, infrastructure and education, the NGF has 20 billion euros at its disposal, to be invested in several rounds over the next four years. The investments in Quantum Delta NL and AiNed are part of the first round, which totaled over 4 billion euros.

Quantum Delta NL is a public-private partnership of tech companies, government agencies and all major quantum research centers in the Netherlands. It was launched in 2020 to coordinate and execute the Netherlands’ National Agenda for Quantum Technology, aiming to create a thriving Dutch ecosystem for quantum technology.

The NGF budget will be used to scale up R&D, talent development, market creation and societal impact activities. “With this funding, the quantum industry in the Netherlands projects it will create 30,000 high-tech jobs and have a cumulative economic impact of 5-7 billion euros. According to a recent Boston Consulting Group report, the market for quantum could grow to around 300 billion dollars worldwide by 2050,” Quantum Delta NL writes in a press release.