Trump administration to follow up Intel stake with investment in quantum computing, report claims — tens of millions of CHIPS Act dollars could be paid out to leading companies in exchange for equity
The U.S. government is negotiating with leading quantum-computing companies to acquire ownership stakes in return for Federal financial support, reports the Wall Street Journal. The plan would provide public funds to quantum technology startups that badly need money while granting Washington direct equity participation and expanding its role as an investor in the private sector.
Atom Computing, D-Wave Quantum, IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and Quantum Computing are among the companies that are discussing or considering entering into a deal with the U.S. government to get funds, according to the WSJ report, which cites people familiar with the matter. Each of the firms is seeking at least $10 million in funding from the U.S. Commerce Department, which would take shares or equivalent financial instruments in return.
The requested financing will come from the Chips Research and Development Office, which manages the CHIPS Act resources in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Secretary Howard Lutnick has reportedly reclaimed several billion dollars that had previously been allocated to a technology research program launched under the Biden administration, so the organization now has money for initiatives like the current one.
Oversight of the new quantum program has been assigned to Deputy Commerce Secretary Paul Dabbar, formerly a quantum computing executive and Energy Department official. His previous company, Bohr Quantum Technology, which he co-founded and led for four years, will not be eligible for the initiative, though.
Quantum machines promise to perform calculations far beyond the reach of conventional supercomputers, potentially dramatically streamlining areas like drug discovery and materials science, which could have a dramatic impact on the whole industry. As a result, politicians consider quantum computing a noteworthy part of the global competition between countries. Therefore, if the deals are reached, American quantum computing companies will get an immediate financial boost, whereas the U.S. government will return its money with profit if these companies develop commercially successful products.
The initiative follows previous high-profile deals in which the U.S. Commerce Department obtained a 9.9% stake in Intel, converting nearly $9 billion in earlier grants into equity, and the Pentagon got a 15% stake in MP Materials, a producer of rare earth materials from the U.S.
Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
