Story perspectives

Commerce Awards $100M Quantum Funding for Three Companies

9/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $100 million to D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Quantinuum, taking minority equity stakes.
D-Wave will develop 100,000-qubit annealing and 10,000-qubit gate-model systems with the award.
Rigetti will build miniaturized readout electronics, larger cryogenic capacity and high-connectivity chips using the funds.
Quantinuum will scale its trapped-ion quantum computing approach with the awarded money.
D-Wave Quantum shares rose about 5% to $17.46 in early trading after the announcement.

History

Historical Context

In December 2018, President Donald Trump signed the National Quantum Initiative Act, establishing a coordinated U.S. quantum research program to maintain technological leadership. The legislation earmarked $1.2 billion for the Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and university consortia over five years. Today, that framework underpins the Commerce Department’s $100 million equity awards to D-Wave, Rigetti Computing, and Quantinuum in pursuit of scaling quantum hardware. The precedent suggests sustained federal capital will accelerate commercial quantum breakthroughs, shaping national competitiveness and future defense applications for civilian and military sectors.

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Story summary

U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $100 million to D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Quantinuum, taking minority equity stakes.
D-Wave will develop 100,000-qubit annealing and 10,000-qubit gate-model systems with the award.
Rigetti will build miniaturized readout electronics, larger cryogenic capacity and high-connectivity chips using the funds.
Quantinuum will scale its trapped-ion quantum computing approach with the awarded money.
D-Wave Quantum shares rose about 5% to $17.46 in early trading after the announcement.

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