The incentives are designed to strengthen the United States’ position in quantum computing, a “critical frontier technology,” the DOC said in a news release.

“Quantum computing has significant implications for national defense, advanced materials and biopharmaceutical discovery, financial modeling, and energy systems,” the agency said. “A strong domestic quantum ecosystem is essential for U.S. national security, technological resilience and long-term strategic leadership.”

The DOC proposed to provide CHIPS and Science Act awards for two quantum foundries — GlobalFoundries and IBM — to help establish and accelerate domestic manufacturing capacity for the quantum sector.

GlobalFoundries will use its $375 million award to establish a spinoff called Quantum Technology Solutions. The new business will “scale the manufacturing capabilities the quantum industry needs to achieve utility-scale quantum computing,” GlobalFoundries said in a news release. It added that in a separate agreement, the DOC will receive a 1% equity stake in the company.

IBM will spend its $1 billion award, along with $1 billion of its own money, to establish a new quantum foundry subsidiary called Anderon that will manufacture 300-millimeter quantum wafers and “help the nation solidify its leadership at the center of a thriving new quantum industry that is estimated to generate up to $850 billion in economic value by 2040,” IBM said.

The seven quantum computing companies set to receive CHIPS Act awards will “address multiple modalities including neutral atom, silicon-spin, superconducting, photonic, and trapped ion and accelerate R&D,” the DOC said. The companies include:

Atom Computing: $100 million to address key technical and manufacturing challenges for neutral-atom quantum computing. Diraq: up to $38 million to develop and scale quantum logic units for silicon spin quantum computing technologies. D-Wave: $100 million for advancements in annealing and gate-model superconducting quantum computing systems. Infleqtion: $100 million to develop engineering systems and integration requirements for large-scale neutral-atom-based quantum computers and architectures. PsiQuantum: $100 million to address key photonic quantum computing technical challenges. Quantinuum: $100 million to address critical technology and manufacturing bottlenecks for scaling of fault-tolerant trapped-ion-based quantum computers. Rigetti: up to $100 million to address key technical challenges to develop and scale next-generation superconducting quantum computing technologies and architectures.

The DOC will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company. Past cases of the U.S. government taking equity stakes have three common attributes, Jefferies, an investment banking and capital markets firm, said in an analyst report. These include:

The government often uses existing funding vehicles to deploy capital. Equity stakes are bundled with structured financial support to de-risk private investment. For example, the July 2025 agreement between MP Materials and the Department of Defense to accelerate a build-out of an end-to-end domestic rare earth magnet supply chain “paired ownership with offtake agreements, price floors, profit-sharing mechanisms, and concessional lending.” The government’s ownership role tends to be passive. For example, the government recently took a 10% equity stake in Intel but holds no board seats or governance rights. According to Jefferies, quantum has emerged as a core focus area of the U.S.-China tech rivalry.

“With China accelerating state-backed quantum investment, [the DOC’s CHIPs and Science Act] announcement reinforces the administration’s growing use of equity stakes as a tool of industrial policy, a model established in mid-2025 that now spans nearly 20 companies across semis, critical minerals, and defense,” the investment banking firm noted.

The DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology said in December that it would invest $20 million to advance AI-based solutions that strengthen manufacturing and cybersecurity. The investment aligns with NIST’s strategy to ensure the U.S. is a leader in quantum computing, AI and other critical emerging technologies.

NIST also awarded $3.2 million to eight small businesses in February to support research and development related to quantum, AI and medical diagnostics, among other other areas.

The DOC is not the only U.S. agency looking to incentivize the development of quantum computing technologies. In April, the Department of Defense awarded more than $200 million to 26 research and development projects across eight regional hubs under the agency’s Microelectronics Commons program, which focuses on technical areas such as quantum, secure edge computing, 5G/6G and artificial intelligence hardware.

Other U.S. firms are pursuing their own opportunities in quantum computing. IonQ said in January it would buy Skywalker Technology for $1.8 billion, accelerating its ability to develop and scale production of quantum computing goods and services for aerospace and defense customers.

By: DocMemory
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