West Palm Beach, FL – October 10, 2025 – Quantum Beach 2025 convened 400 business leaders, global quantum experts, Fortune 500 companies, and representatives from 15 Florida universities in a groundbreaking event that positioned Palm Beach County and the state of Florida as a national hub for quantum innovation.
Hosted in partnership by the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Quantum Coast Capital, and The Quantum Insider, Quantum Beach 2025 marked a pivotal moment for Florida’s next-generation economy. From the signing of two historic Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) to the announcement of a new AI and Quantum Center, it also drew the attention of the New York Stock Exchange and attracted industry giants such as IonQ, Quantinuum, D-Wave, IBM and Resonance to name a few.
Leadership Signals Commitment to Quantum Economy
The conference opened with a panel that confirmed the region’s intention to attract quantum and innovation-based companies featuring West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, Evan Kubes of Resonance, Kelly Smallridge of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, and Matt Cimaglia of Quantum Coast Capital.
“West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County are open to new technologies and new industries. There is a whole world out there of other possibilities that bring job opportunities,” said Mayor Keith James, City of West Palm Beach. “If there’s anything that I want you to take away from this, it’s that West Palm Beach is embracing the opportunity to be a part of this movement for our city.”
“We’re entering into this new era,” stated Matt Cimaglia, Managing Partner of Quantum Coast Capital. He shared the importance of understanding how quantum will impact your life and how to embrace it.
“We really are at the beginning,” said Evan Kubes, President of Resonance. “I do believe that in the next five years or 10 years, we’re all going to be looking back and saying we were there.”
“We want your business here in Palm Beach County,” said Kelly Smallridge, President and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. “We’re going to stay on this strategy for a very long time with not just quantum, but also innovation-based companies. Young people and young talent want to move here, and these innovation-based companies are fueled by them.”
Historic MOU Signing with Florida Universities
Florida Secretary J. Alex Kelly of FloridaCommerce announced a historic signing, bringing nearly 20 Florida universities to the stage. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was for the Florida Alliance for Quantum Technology, an initiative that drives industry innovation in the State of Florida to be a leader in quantum technology by coordinating talent, research, and investment. Signers included:
- Dr. Kwang-Cheng Chen – University of South Florida
- Dr. Winston Schoenfeld – University of Central Florida
- Provost, Elizabeth M. Bejar – Florida International University
- Dr. Lewis Johnson – Florida A&M University
- Dr. Huzefa Kagdi – Florida Gulf Coast University
- Dr. Kimberly Mayer – University of North Florida
- Dr. Levi Thompson – University of South Florida
- Gene Kovacs – State University System of Florida – Board of Governors
- Dr. Jeremy Ernst – Embry-Riddles Aeronautical University
- Provost, Brad Thiessen – Florida Polytechnic University
- Dr. Gregg Fields – Florida Atlantic University
- Dr. Hamid Rassoul – Florida Institute of Technology
- Dr. Dallas Snider – University of West Florida
- Dr. Stacey S. Patterson – Florida State University
- Elias G. Eldayrie – University of Florida
- Dr. Joshua Cohn – University of Miami
- Dr. Elizabeth Bright – New College of Florida
MOU to Advance Quantum Investment and Innovation
Additionally, a second MOU was signed between the Florida Opportunity Fund (FOF) and Quantum Coast Capital, announcing a strategic partnership that will evaluate and co-invest in companies developing quantum-related technologies. The goal is to accelerate quantum technology and advanced computing investments throughout Florida.
Palm Beach State College to Launch a Quantum Center
In a major announcement, Palm Beach State College President Ava Parker revealed plans for a new state-of-the-art AI and Quantum Innovation Center in West Palm Beach. The center will serve as a quantum incubator and workforce development hub in a strategic location with the Florida LambdaRail. The state’s major universities and national research arms can easily meet and collaborate.
“We’re building a quantum-ready workforce through partnerships that connect education, industry, and government: expanding opportunity for our students and the residents of Palm Beach County,” said Ava L. Parker, J.D., president of Palm Beach State College.
Record Attendance & Global Impact
Quantum Beach 2025 was the event’s largest gathering to date, tripling attendance from prior years. With 15 panel discussions and top-tier speakers, the conference showcased how quantum is poised to revolutionize sectors from healthcare to finance, energy, and national security.
Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave, shared how their quantum systems have already accelerated a pharmaceutical client’s drug discovery process through this technology. D-Wave is a quantum computing company with locations in California, Burnaby, and British Columbia and is the world’s first company to sell computers that exploit quantum effects in their operation.
Additional out-of-state attendees included:
- Aliro, based in Massachusetts, assists in entanglement-based quantum networks. Jim Ricotta, CEO, attended and has led several firms producing billions.
- ArQ Controls, based in California, specializes in the remote monitoring, measurement, and control of critical assets.
- BQP (BosonQ Psi), based in New York, focuses on quantum computing and technology and had the Founder, CEO and Scientific Officer Abhishek Chopra in attendance.
- Direqt, based in Washington, is a chatbot publishing platform.
- Haiqu, believes practical quantum computing will be essential to the design of clean technology. Co-Founder and CEO Richard Givhan was in attendance.
- Impactifi’s Chief of Emerging Tech, John Riley, leads new tech development, and was in attendance.
Full Spectrum of Stakeholders
Florida’s top research institutions, including the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute, joined with K–12 schools such as School District leaders, Dreyfoos School of the Arts, American Heritage Schools, Gulf Stream School, Jupiter Christian School and the newly announced private school Wingrove Academy. Local governments from Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Wellington also participated, signaling Palm Beach County’s end-to-end pipeline for education and regional support for the growing innovation economy.
Panelists
Quantum Leaders
- Paul Parazzoli – IBM
- Ryan McKenney – Quantinuum
- Evan Kubes – Resonance
- Jim Ricotta – Aliro
- Lamont Silves – IonQ
- Alan Baratz – D-Wave
- Greg Dick – Open Quantum Design
- Austin Capers – Scientific Instruments
- Alex Challans – Quantum Insider
- Kendall Nettles, Ph.D. – The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute
- Jeff Whalen – Magnetics Corporation
- Marco Pistoia – IonQ
- William Shepherd – Holland & Knight
- Kirk Suscella – FPL
- Matt Cimaglia – Quantum Coast Capital
- Hillary Matchett – Quantum Coast Capital
- Dmitry Green – Quantum Coast Capital
- Rima Alameddine – IonQ
- Allison Schwartz – D-Wave
- Dr. Blake Johnson – IBM
Regional Entities
- Mayor Keith James – City of West Palm Beach
- President Ava Parker – Palm Beach State College
- Kelly Smallridge – Business Development Board
- Andrea Virgin – The Center
State Leaders:
- Florida Secretary J. Alex Kelly – FloridaCommerce
- Robert Harvey – Florida Opportunity Fund
Education Leaders:
- Ron Walsworth – University of Maryland
- Michael Shatruk – Florida State University
- Philip Feng – University of Florida
- Kwang-Cheng Chen – University of South Florida
- Eduardo Mucciolo – University of Central Florida
- Hebin Li – University of Miami
- Dr. Luc T. Wille – Florida Atlantic University
- Dr. Kathleen Amm – MagLab
About Quantum Beach 2025
Quantum Beach is a conference designed to catalyze quantum innovation by uniting global stakeholders across academia, business, and government to accelerate the commercialization and application of quantum technologies while building talent pipelines for the future. Quantum Beach 2025 was hosted in West Palm Beach in partnership with the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Quantum Coast Capital and The Quantum Insider. The sponsors were IonQ, D-Wave, Quantinuum, Florida Power & Light, and Scientific Instruments, Inc. with support to make this event possible.
