NYC Taxpayers Could Cash In On New NYU Quantum Lab

NEW YORK CITY— The City will invest $29.2 million in a new quantum technology laboratory at New York University, securing board seats and a share of certain proceeds from inventions developed with City-funded equipment.

The 23,000-square-foot Quantum Fabrication Facility, known as QFab, will occupy 770 Broadway, between East Eighth and East Ninth streets in Manhattan.

The facility is expected to open in 2030 and will give researchers, students, startups and established companies access to specialized equipment for developing and testing quantum devices.

NYU plans to contribute an additional $255 million toward construction and 10 years of operations, bringing the total investment to $284.2 million.

The agreement also gives the City three seats on QFab’s Executive Advisory Board and entitles the City to 15 percent of NYU Central Administration’s proceeds from intellectual property created at the facility using City-funded equipment.

Those proceeds can include equity, royalties, milestone payments and patent licensing revenue.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the investment alongside Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Economic Development Corporation President and Chief Executive Anthony Shorris.

“This first-of-its-kind agreement will give the city board seats to shape the future of the quantum industry and a stake in the new technologies that emerge from the lab,” Mamdani said.

What Will The New Quantum Lab Do?

Quantum technology uses the unusual rules of tiny particles, such as atoms and electrons, to create new tools and solve problems.

Unlike ordinary computers, which process information using bits represented as zeros or ones, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits, which can behave in more complex ways.

This could help scientists tackle certain problems that would take traditional computers far longer to solve, such as studying new medicines, designing better materials or improving some financial calculations.

Researchers are exploring applications across health care, life sciences, finance, energy and advanced manufacturing.

QFab will provide specialized manufacturing and testing equipment for quantum chips and components, along with cleanrooms, cryogenic systems and other tools needed to develop emerging technologies.

The facility also will help startups move inventions from research prototypes toward commercial products.

NYU expects QFab to incubate nearly 50 companies and provide services to 50 newly formed startups.

The broader quantum technology industry could generate as much as $2.7 trillion in economic value by 2035, according to projections cited in the announcement.

How Will NYC Students Benefit?

The facility will offer training and research opportunities to students from the City University of New York, the city's public university system, and New York City Public Schools.

More than 3,000 CUNY students at Borough of Manhattan Community College and City Tech are expected to gain access to the facility.

Mamdani said the administration hopes to expand opportunities across the CUNY system.

Programs will include technician training, internships, certificate courses, summer workshops, boot camps and virtual reality-based learning.

Students will have opportunities to work with specialized equipment and prepare for careers in quantum technology.

QFab expects to reach more than 35,000 New Yorkers during its first decade, including more than 5,000 students through undergraduate and graduate programs, internships, summer programs and other educational initiatives.

The workforce programs will target more than researchers with advanced degrees. The facility also expects to create pathways for technicians, fabricators and engineers who build, operate and test quantum devices.

How Will The City Share In The Technology’s Success?

The three advisory board seats will allow City representatives to participate in decisions about QFab's direction.

The revenue-sharing provision applies to proceeds received by NYU Central Administration from intellectual property created using equipment funded by the City.

“When the public invests in a new technology at the start, the public should share in the success,” Su said.

The agreement does not establish a universal requirement for future City-funded projects to include similar terms.

Asked whether the administration would seek comparable arrangements elsewhere, Mamdani described the QFab partnership as a model the City wants to extend across its economic development efforts.