U.S. awards $2 billion in quantum grants with equity stakes

The U.S. government is awarding $2 billion in grants to nine quantum computing companies and will take equity stakes in each firm, a significant move that treats the emerging technology as a national security imperative. The funding, reported by the Wall Street Journal and attributed to the Commerce Department, represents one of the largest direct government investments in the quantum sector to date.

International Business Machines Corp. is set to receive half of the total, a $1 billion grant. Semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries will receive $375 million. The remaining seven companies are expected to receive $100 million each, with the exception of startup Diraq, which is slated to receive either $28 million or $38 million, according to differing reports. Publicly traded firms confirmed to be part of the deal include D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Infleqtion.

The structure of the deal, which pairs grants with government equity ownership, is unusual for federal technology programs and more closely resembles a strategic investment. This approach extends a policy initiative of the current administration to take stakes in companies considered critical to domestic...