The U.S. government is set to distribute $2 billion in grants to nine firms engaged in quantum computing development, with several of the transactions including U.S. government equity stakes in the recipients. The Commerce Department provided the allocation details for the package, which concentrates the largest portion on a single firm and spreads the remainder across established vendors and startups.
Under the plan, $1 billion of the $2 billion package will be awarded to IBM, while GlobalFoundries is scheduled to receive $375 million. A group of other companies identified for awards are expected to receive roughly $100 million each. Those firms include D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion. One smaller company, Diraq, is listed to receive $38 million.
Reports indicate these awards are structured to give the U.S. government equity stakes in some of the companies that receive grants. The program thereby combines direct funding with ownership positions rather than limiting support to traditional non-equity grants.
Financial markets reacted quickly to the announced package: shares of the companies named in the award roster moved higher in premarket trading, with reported swings in the high single digits to double digits. Specific market data included a modest positive move for IBM alongside larger percentage gains for several of the smaller quoted names.
Requests for comment sent to the U.S. Department of Commerce, IBM and GlobalFoundries were not immediately answered. The Commerce Department provided the distribution figures for the awards as noted above.
Context and implications
This funding assignment ties direct federal capital to a select set of quantum computing firms and establishes equity positions for the government in certain recipients. The announcement affects companies across the quantum-computing supply chain and was immediately reflected in equity markets for the named firms.
Further details on the precise terms of the equity arrangements, the timing of disbursements and any additional recipients beyond the nine specified were not provided in the information made available alongside the allocation figures.