At 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, the doors open at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Okeechobee Boulevard, and the first thing Quantum Beach 2026 hands its attendees is not a lesson in qubits but a badge and a breakfast buffet. Half an hour later, Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly is scheduled to take the stage with Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of the Palm Beaches, and Matt Cimaglia of Quantum Coast Capital for a session called the State of the Florida Quantum Ecosystem. By early afternoon, the posted schedule has the FBI and CISA, the federal cybersecurity agency within the Department of Homeland Security, briefing the room on security threats emerging alongside quantum computing. It is a day built around where a very young technology is heading, and who in Florida intends to be standing there when it arrives.
An hour after those doors open, on the third floor of the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach at 411 Clematis Street, a different kind of room gets to work on something more immediate. The library’s Intro to AI in Small Business workshop, presented by Melanie Roger of Zeus Financial & Consulting Services, is pitched at owners who want to understand how to scale their businesses “both with and without Artificial Intelligence,” in the words of the library’s event listing. On Monday morning, its registration form showed 12 seats available, one attendee per registration. Lunch is provided.
Both events sit in downtown West Palm Beach on the same Thursday, and both are about technology that is changing how business gets done. But they answer different questions for different people. We covered the Mandel workshop ahead of its registration opening; this is the map for choosing between the two rooms.
Two Rooms, One Thursday
Quantum Beach calls itself Florida’s flagship quantum gathering, “a single day where researchers, founders, students, and the people backing them come together to move the technology out of the lab and into the real world,” according to the official event page run by FloridaQuantum, a statewide initiative focused on building a quantum industry in Florida. The Business Development Board’s Sept. 8 announcement lists the hosts as the BDB, The Quantum Insider and Quantum Coast Capital. On the event page, IonQ and D-Wave appear as sponsors, with ServiceNow, Related Ross and Florida Atlantic University among the additional sponsors.
The 2025 edition was held Oct. 8, 2025, at the Kravis Center, and FloridaQuantum has posted a 14-video archive of those sessions, with titles ranging from “How to Protect Our Digital World from Quantum Computing Attacks” to “A Practical Approach to Quantum Readiness.” This year it moves to the convention center.
The organizers say no quantum background is required, and the conference FAQ says everyone is welcome. Still, the program is built for people whose work touches the long arc of the technology: enterprise technology buyers, security and defense teams, researchers, university leaders and investors. The Mandel workshop is built for a different person, the owner who wants to understand how to grow the business they already run and where AI fits into it.
What Quantum Beach Puts on Stage
The posted schedule, which organizers say is subject to change and will be finalized the week of the event, runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a cocktail reception from 4 to 5 p.m. After the opening, Alex Challans, co-founder and CEO of The Quantum Insider, is slated to give a first look at a new study mapping Florida’s quantum ecosystem. Robert Loredo, FAU’s executive director of quantum technologies, follows with “Level Set: Quantum Beyond the Basics.” Then D-Wave’s Allison Schwartz takes on “Home Field Advantage: Quantum Use Cases for Florida Industry,” about how industries and infrastructure Florida already has can put quantum to work.
The late morning leans toward infrastructure and buyers. IonQ’s Jay Patel hosts Florida LambdaRail CEO Jon Ellis for an update on the FLR Quantum Network’s statewide expansion and Phase 1 completion, with a Florida International University presenter still to be announced. Evan Kubes of The Quantum Insider then sits down with John Licata, ServiceNow’s futures director and quantum lead, for “The Enterprise Buyer’s View,” on how a large enterprise evaluates quantum technology and decides when it is ready to invest. The morning closes with “Classroom to Commercialization,” in which Quantum Coast Capital’s Hillary Matchett hosts Palm Beach State College President Ava Parker, FAU President Adam Hasner and Vanderbilt University’s Nathan Green on turning research and training into a workforce and companies.
After a networking lunch, the afternoon turns to security. The FBI and CISA are listed for a 1:10 p.m. Threat Briefing. Dr. Sarah Mohrle, chief AI and data officer at Eclypses, follows with a case study in “securing critical systems and high-value data before quantum computers can break today’s encryption.” A 1:55 p.m. panel on Quantum and National Defense takes up how the technology is changing defense and “the role Florida’s defense industry can play,” with its moderator and additional defense-industry panelists still to be announced. Riverlane’s Dr. Steve Brierley joins Challans on error correction, a pharma and biotech session awaits a speaker, and the day closes with a fireside featuring Dr. Erwin Gianchandani of the National Science Foundation on federal support for quantum innovation.
One promoted item comes with a caveat. The BDB announcement describes a session called The Compatibility Test that will bring three Palm Beach County businesses together with D-Wave, IonQ and NVIDIA to explore quantum applications. That session does not appear by name on the schedule FloridaQuantum has posted, and NVIDIA is not listed among the speakers or sponsors on the event site, although D-Wave and IonQ hold other slots on the program. If that session is your reason for going, ask the organizers at hello@floridaquantum.org before you buy.
For owners, the official presence on this program is a signal: a state commerce secretary, the county’s economic development chief and a quantum-focused investor share the opening slot. The BDB frames the stakes around Florida’s $1.9 trillion economy, which it calls the fourth largest in the nation, along with 21 major military installations and three combatant commands.
Who Should Buy a Quantum Beach Ticket
The clearest case is a company that already works in or around defense and government. The afternoon block, with the federal Threat Briefing followed by the defense panel on the role of Florida’s defense industry, is aimed squarely at contractors and the suppliers who serve them. Owners who handle sensitive client data for a living, including IT and managed-services firms, cybersecurity shops and compliance consultants, will likely find the Eclypses case study and the federal briefing the most directly useful hour of the day.
Tech founders and investors have the next-strongest case. Quantum Coast Capital is a host, its founder and its chief investment officer are both on stage, and the closing fireside with the National Science Foundation is explicitly about federal support for quantum innovation. Enterprise IT leaders evaluating emerging technology should circle the ServiceNow fireside, which is framed around exactly their question: when is it time to invest?
University-linked people round out the list. Faculty, administrators, workforce and training providers, and students interested in the field will find the Classroom to Commercialization panel with the presidents of Palm Beach State College and FAU at the center of the morning, and the conference FAQ confirms that students and government employees can buy a discounted ticket. Companies that want to be seen by this audience rather than simply attend can look at sponsorship, which the registration form lists in tiers from a $5,000 coffee-break sponsorship to a $25,000 platinum tier; the FAQ directs sponsorship inquiries to events@bdb.org.
Who Should Take the Mandel Seat Instead
If you run a restaurant, a salon, a landscaping crew, a boutique or a small professional practice, and your AI question is some version of “what should I actually be doing with this,” the Mandel workshop is the better use of Oct. 22. The library describes it as a session to help small business owners understand how to scale their businesses both with and without artificial intelligence, and invites attendees to “explore what it takes to become an entrepreneur.” The library lists it under Adult Job Help, in person, in the Clematis Room on the third floor.
Registration is required and limited to one attendee per registration, so a business partner or manager who wants to come needs a registration of their own. The form asks for a name, email, phone number and number of attendees, with no payment fields, but the listing does not print a price. If cost matters to your decision, call the library’s Career and Technology Programs office at (561) 868-7760.
One detail has changed since our first story. The listing now shows the workshop running from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern, while its description still calls it a full-day intensive; when we first reported on it, the listing showed a 3 p.m. finish. Confirm the time with the library when you register.
Can You Do Both?
On paper, yes, with trade-offs. If the Mandel workshop ends at 1 p.m. as currently listed, Quantum Beach’s afternoon resumes at 1:10 p.m. with the Threat Briefing, and the conference FAQ says attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the day. The two venues are both downtown, at 650 Okeechobee Blvd. and 411 Clematis St., but we found no published travel time between them, so allow for the move and parking.
The catch is money and content. Quantum Beach sells only a full-day ticket, so a split day means paying the full price for the afternoon, and missing the entire morning program, including the ecosystem opening, the D-Wave use-case talk, the ServiceNow fireside and the higher-education panel. You would also skip the conference’s networking lunch, though Mandel says lunch is provided at the workshop. The split makes most sense for someone like the owner of a small IT or managed-services firm who wants practical AI guidance and the security briefing for clients. For almost everyone else, pick one room.
What It Costs, and How to Register
Quantum Beach’s price is public. The Register button on the FloridaQuantum event page leads to an attendee registration form that lists a Single Registration at $125 and a Government & Academic Single Registration at $45, with payment by credit card. A second registration route runs through the BDB’s member portal event page, which the convention center’s own event listing links to; that page shows a Register button but no prices before you click. Before you pay, ask whether BDB members get a different rate through the portal, what the refund or transfer policy is, and what proof the discounted ticket requires.
The ticket covers more than the sessions. According to the FAQ, registration includes breakfast from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch during the conference, and complimentary parking is provided in the Palm Beach County Convention Center garage at 1099 S. Rosemary Ave. with registration. The convention center’s parking page lists standard garage rates of $2 an hour, up to $30 a day, and notes that event rates can differ. Organizers say the Brightline West Palm Beach station is an eight-minute walk from the convention center, and the Hilton West Palm Beach next door has a room block for out-of-town attendees.
In time, Quantum Beach is a full business day, from 9 a.m. doors to the end of the reception at 5 p.m. The Mandel workshop, as currently listed, is a three-hour morning, with registration directly on the library’s event page.
What to Do Before Oct. 22
Start by deciding which question you are trying to answer. If it is how AI fits into the business you run today, register for the Mandel workshop now, while seats remain, and call the library to confirm the time and whether there is any cost. If it is how quantum computing will affect your clients, your security posture, your contracts or your investments, buy the Quantum Beach ticket that fits your status and check the schedule again the week of the event, when organizers say it will be finalized.
If you are going to Quantum Beach, the 2025 session videos on FloridaQuantum’s site are a free way to calibrate the level of the room, and “A Practical Approach to Quantum Readiness” is a sensible place to start. If you are attending for the security block, bring a short list of the systems and records you would least want exposed, since the afternoon case study is about protecting high-value data before quantum computers can break today’s encryption. Charge your laptop before you arrive, since the FAQ warns outlets will not be available at every seat.
If you are weighing the split day, get both answers in writing first: the Mandel end time from the library and any schedule changes from Quantum Beach.
Key Facts for Owners and Search
- Quantum Beach 2026: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, FL 33401. Doors 9 a.m.; program 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; reception 4 to 5 p.m. (event page)
- Hosts: Business Development Board of the Palm Beaches, The Quantum Insider and Quantum Coast Capital, per the BDB announcement; event site run by FloridaQuantum.
- On the posted program: opening with Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly, the BDB’s Kelly Smallridge and Quantum Coast Capital’s Matt Cimaglia; D-Wave, IonQ, ServiceNow, Florida LambdaRail, Riverlane, Eclypses and the National Science Foundation; a higher-education panel with Palm Beach State College, FAU and Vanderbilt; an FBI and CISA threat briefing; a national defense panel. Schedule subject to change.
- Quantum Beach price: $125 single registration; $45 Government & Academic (students and government employees), per the registration form linked from the event page’s Register button.
- Mandel Intro to AI in Small Business: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, 411 Clematis St., Clematis Room, third floor. Listed 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern. Presenter Melanie Roger, Zeus Financial & Consulting Services. Registration required; one attendee per registration; lunch provided; price not stated. Questions: (561) 868-7760. (event page)
Is Quantum Beach only for quantum experts? No. Organizers say no quantum background is required and everyone is welcome.
Can I attend only part of Quantum Beach? You can come and go, but only a full-day ticket is sold, according to the conference FAQ.
Is parking included at Quantum Beach? The FAQ says complimentary parking in the convention center garage at 1099 S. Rosemary Ave. is provided with registration.
Is the Mandel workshop free? The listing does not say. Its registration form has no payment fields; call (561) 868-7760 to confirm.
Can I do both on Oct. 22? Only as a split day: Mandel is listed to end at 1 p.m., and Quantum Beach’s afternoon resumes at 1:10 p.m. You would pay for a full-day Quantum Beach ticket and miss its morning.
