US to take $2bn equity stakes in quantum computing firms

The US government will take equity stakes worth a total of $2 billion in a slew of quantum computing companies, including a startup backed by a firm with links to the Trump family and one taken public by a Pentagon official.

The announcement by the commerce department that it had signed letters of intent with nine companies—including GlobalFoundries and IBM—sent shares in quantum specialists soaring on Thursday.

Both IBM, which is set to get $1 billion, and GlobalFoundries, which will receive $375 million, were up more than 6 percent in pre-market trading. D-Wave Quantum, an awardee that was taken public in 2022 by Emil Michael—now a top Pentagon official—was up more than 20 percent.

Among the recipients was also PsiQuantum, which last year raised money from a group of investors including 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm at which Donald Trump Jr is a partner.

The company, which has sealed partnerships with Democratic and Republican administrations, is set to receive $100 million, by far its largest US government award to date.

A person close to the company said 1789 was a passive minority investor with no involvement in PsiQuantum’s operations. A spokesperson for Trump Jr previously told the FT he had no involvement in negotiations with the government on behalf of 1789’s portfolio companies.

Other companies set to receive $100 million are Atom Computing, Infleqtion, Quantinuum, and Rigetti. Another startup, Diraq, will receive up to $38 million, the commerce department said.

“With today’s CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation,” said US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

“These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities,” he added.

The move is the latest in a series of attempts by the Trump administration to intervene in the market, offering grants to companies in strategic sectors, such as semiconductors and critical minerals, in exchange for equity stakes.

Last year, the commerce department took a 10 percent stake in Intel, by converting $2.2 billion in grants under the Joe Biden-era Chips Act as well as $8.9 billion in federal grants that had been awarded but not yet paid.

Since then, several companies have received smaller sums, including Vulcan Elements, a little-known rare earths startup with about 30 employees, in which Trump Jr’s venture capital firm has invested.

Notably absent from the list of companies that signed letters of intent with the commerce department on Thursday was IonQ, a leading quantum company that has attracted significant investment from Cerberus, a firm co-founded by Donald Trump’s deputy secretary of war, Stephen Feinberg.

The US quantum announcement comes as other countries such as the UK are increasing their investments in technology and other related fields.

The ability of quantum computers to exploit the unusual properties of matter at the atomic and subatomic levels makes them theoretically capable of performing complex calculations much faster than existing machines.

But significant engineering hurdles remain, such as in making the machines less prone to errors, while companies are still dueling over which technical approaches work best.

The deals unveiled on Thursday are not final, and the administration said it was still soliciting proposals from other advanced tech firms. Intel is facing a shareholder lawsuit over its deal with the US government.

Additional reporting by Alex Rogers.

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