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Quantum computing is the latest U.S. government equity bet
Quantum computing stocks rallied premarket on Thursday after a Wall Street Journal report about the Donald Trump administration awarding $2B in grants to nine firms in deals that include government equity stakes.
According to the report, the U.S. Commerce Department plans to award IBM (IBM), +7.1% premarket, about $1B in funding as part of a broader push to accelerate quantum computing development.
GlobalFoundries (GFS), up +10.8%, is expected to receive about $375M, while most other companies will receive around $100M each, except for startup Diraq, which is slated to get $38M.
Other quantum computing firms slated for funding include D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and Infleqtion (INFQ), though the deals have not yet been finalized.
The government is expected to take minority equity stakes in each of the quantum companies, extending a recent trend of similar deals involving companies such as rare-earth magnet maker Vulcan Elements and MP Materials (MP). The Commerce Department did not disclose the size or structure of the planned stakes.
The funding for the quantum computing deals will come from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which allocated capital for emerging and early-stage technology projects.
The report gave a boost to quantum computing stocks across the sector, with some of the biggest premarket gainers including: Rigetti Computing (RGTI) +12.7%, IonQ (IONQ) +6.8%, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) +10.5%, Arqit Quantum (AR) +5%, SEALSQ (LAES) +4.9%, Quantum Computing (QUBT) +9.8%, Infleqtion (INFQ) +16.9%.
Quantum computing ETF: Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM).
The move speeds up the administration’s push to support the emerging quantum computing industry, which has recently seen growing interest and investment from both businesses and investors.
IBM, D-Wave, Rigetti, GlobalFoundries confirm proposed U.S. quantum funding awards
IBM (IBM), D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and GlobalFoundries (GFS) on Thursday confirmed separate proposed funding awards from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act, as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to build a domestic quantum computing supply chain.
IBM (IBM) said it signed a letter of intent with the department to launch Anderon, a standalone quantum chip manufacturing company that would operate what IBM described as America’s first pure-play quantum foundry.
The project includes $1B in proposed CHIPS incentives from the federal government, matched by $1B in cash from IBM, along with contributions of intellectual property, assets and personnel. The foundry will be based in Albany, New York and focus on manufacturing 300-millimeter quantum wafers.
The foundry will initially support wafer fabrication for superconducting qubit and supporting electronics wafers.
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) separately disclosed a proposed $100M CHIPS Act award tied to efforts to accelerate development of the company’s superconducting annealing and gate-model technology. Under the proposed agreement, D-Wave would issue $100M in common stock to the Commerce Department once definitive award documents are finalized.
The company said the funding would expedite the delivery of advanced superconducting quantum computers, including a 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model quantum computer.
Rigetti Computing (RGTI) also confirmed it signed a letter of intent for up to $100M in funding over three years to accelerate superconducting quantum computing research and development.
The company said the proposed projects would focus on addressing major technical hurdles tied to scaling superconducting quantum systems. The Commerce Department is expected to receive an equity stake in Rigetti tied to the total amount of funding under the proposed agreement.
Separately, GlobalFoundries (GFS) said the Commerce Department entered into a letter of intent to award the company $375M to accelerate the build-out of its new quantum business, Quantum Technology Solutions.
IBM shares rose +6.7% premarket, QBTS was up +19.2%, RGTI +15.5%, and GFS gained +11.4%.