Trump Administration Invests $2 Billion in Nine Quantum Firms, With $1 Billion for IBM Foundry
The Trump administration has agreed to provide about $2 billion in grants to nine quantum computing companies, while also taking equity stakes in some recipients, according to reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. IBM is expected to receive the largest award, with $1 billion earmarked to help the company build a foundry for producing quantum computing chips, a sign of how the government is trying to accelerate a technology it sees as strategically important.
The plan would use federal money to support a sector that is still early in development but has major potential in fields such as cybersecurity, materials science and defense. Quantum computers rely on the unusual behavior of particles at very small scales and, if developed successfully, could eventually solve certain problems far faster than today’s machines. That promise has drawn intense interest from governments and private investors alike, especially because quantum advances could also challenge some current encryption systems.
According to the Wall Street Journal report cited by Fast Company, nine companies are expected to share the funding, with the government’s equity stakes varying by recipient. That structure echoes other recent industrial policy efforts in the United States, where public support is tied more directly to national security and domestic manufacturing goals. The administration is using legislation passed during the Biden era to back the industry, even as it reshapes how those funds are awarded.
The announcement sent quantum computing stocks sharply higher. IBM shares rose on news of the proposed $1 billion award, while pure-play quantum firms such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing Inc. also jumped, reflecting investor expectations that Washington’s backing could bring much-needed capital to a still-unprofitable field. Analysts and traders see the move as a strong signal that the U.S. government wants to help build a homegrown quantum supply chain.
The exact timing, final list of recipients and detailed terms of the awards have not yet been formally released. But the reported plan underscores a broader race among governments and companies to secure leadership in a technology with long-term commercial and military implications. For IBM, the funding could help expand its role not just as a cloud and consulting giant, but as a major industrial player in the quantum hardware ecosystem.