County Leaders Spotlight AI, Quantum Computing Investments With $1M UMD Grant

A $1 million federal grant landed at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business on Monday, with U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey presenting the award to support a public-private partnership designed to help Prince George's County small businesses navigate federal contracting through artificial intelligence tools.

The funding will go to UMD's Smith School of Business, where students will help develop a platform designed to assist local companies in solving challenges and creating job opportunities. The grant, sourced from the Office of Congressman Glenn Ivey, targets a practical gap: connecting the county's small business community to the federal agencies clustered just miles away in Washington.

The presentation came during a two-day Competitiveness Council Symposium that brought together political leaders, tech executives, and government officials to examine the county's expanding role in next-generation computing. The Center for Artificial Intelligence at UMD's Smith School of Business, with support from the Maryland Small Business Development Center, will analyze existing AI solutions for small businesses, develop new programs, and provide direct consulting, online courses, and workshops. The symposium opened Monday at Morgan State University before shifting Tuesday to the University of Maryland's College Park campus, where the grant presentation took place.

Among the participants was IonQ, a quantum computing company whose roots run directly through UMD. IonQ was founded in 2015 by UMD Professor Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim, and their systems are based on foundational research at the University of Maryland and Duke University. IonQ's growth contributes to the $2 billion revitalization of the area surrounding UMD, known as Greater College Park, and is a testament to Prince George's County's commitment to supporting the growth and development of innovative, locally-grown companies.

The symposium's broader argument for the region rested on geography as much as technology. Officials pointed out that proximity to Washington puts Prince George's County businesses within reach of NASA, NOAA, the Army Research Lab, and Johns Hopkins, all potential collaboration partners for companies developing AI solutions. That competitive advantage sits at the heart of what the Smith School platform is intended to unlock: a structured pathway for local firms to work directly with agencies that already operate in their backyard.

Quantum computing underpins much of the optimism driving the investment. Technology in general is a key driver of productivity growth and innovation, and has a substantial impact on businesses of all kinds, including small businesses. However, the transformative potential of AI is not substantially helping small businesses in Maryland. The grant directly addresses that disconnect. When combined with quantum processing capabilities, which allow machines to evaluate millions of possibilities simultaneously rather than sequentially, the potential applications extend from accelerating medical research to hardening cybersecurity systems and untangling supply chain disruptions.

Maryland Secretary of Commerce Harry Coker Jr. previously highlighted a $40 million investment in the state's 2026 fiscal year budget aimed at establishing Maryland as the "Capital of Quantum," including millions in support directed toward UMD's growing quantum ecosystem. The Competitiveness Council Symposium positioned Prince George's County, and College Park in particular, as the geographic center of that ambition. The $1 million Smith School grant is a more targeted instrument: not a statewide declaration, but a direct investment in the small businesses that would ultimately have to do the work of turning the county's tech proximity into economic opportunity.