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DARPA Funds IonQ and Diraq for Stage C Quantum

By Drooid · Oct 8, 2026, 5:05 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

DARPA advanced IonQ and Diraq to Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
DARPA signed Stage C agreements with IonQ and Diraq, each worth up to $300 million.
An initial $51 million tranche will fund Diraq’s next-year development toward utility-scale quantum computing.
Diraq targets 150,000 qubits by 2029 and over 2 million qubits on a chip by 2031.
IonQ will deliver its Superion 256 sixth-generation trapped-ion systems for DARPA’s independent validation.

History

Historical Context

In 1998, DARPA launched its inaugural Quantum Computing Initiative, allocating $100 million to explore quantum algorithms and hardware for future defense applications. The program funded IBM, BBN Technologies, and the University of California, Berkeley, each receiving roughly $30 million to develop trapped-ion prototypes. Today, DARPA’s Stage C agreements with IonQ and Diraq, each worth up to $300 million, echo that early effort by scaling funding and targeting utility-scale qubit counts. This continuity suggests federal investment will accelerate quantum supremacy, shaping national security, commercial computing, and scientific research for decades ahead.

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Story summary

DARPA advanced IonQ and Diraq to Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
DARPA signed Stage C agreements with IonQ and Diraq, each worth up to $300 million.
An initial $51 million tranche will fund Diraq’s next-year development toward utility-scale quantum computing.
Diraq targets 150,000 qubits by 2029 and over 2 million qubits on a chip by 2031.
IonQ will deliver its Superion 256 sixth-generation trapped-ion systems for DARPA’s independent validation.

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