Quantum stocks soar as U.S. reportedly plans ‘award’, equity stakes

Quantum computing shares popped on Thursday, as the U.S. government said it would award $2 billion in grants to nine firms operating in the space.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology announced the signing of letters of intent in a release, saying it would take a minority, non-controlling stake in each company.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the deals.

IBM is the biggest beneficiary of the package, with the U.S. Commerce Department agreeing to give the firm $1 billion.

Shares of IBM were trading about 7% higher.

The company is a frontrunner in the movement to build supercomputers using quantum technology, which developers say will be able to solve complex problems existing computers cannot tackle.

Chipmaker GlobalFoundries is receiving $375 million, while other grant recipients D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion will be awarded $100 million.

Startup Diraq is set to receive a $38 million grant and PsiQuantum will get $100 million under the agreement.

Shares of D-Wave and Rigetti soared 25%, while Infleqtion skyrocketed about 30% higher.

Other quantum firms that were not part of the announcement also climbed on the news, with Arqit booming 30%, while IonQ popped 12% and Quantum Computing was up 17%.

The deals still have to be formally completed. Funding is reported to come from the 2022 Chips and Science Act. 

CNBC has reached out to the U.S. Commerce Department for comment.

Shortly after the WSJ published its report, IBM confirmed that it would work with the U.S. government to develop America’s first purpose-built quantum foundry, supported by the proposed $1 billion award. The company said the initiative will “accelerate American quantum innovation and enable advanced quantum wafer production for a broad range of companies.”

IBM said the incentive from the Commerce Department will support the research and development efforts of a new IBM company called Anderon, to which IBM will contribute a $1 billion investment to match the government grant.

“Headquartered in Albany, New York as a standalone company, Anderon will operate as a state-of-the-art 300-millimeter quantum wafer foundry,” IBM said in a news release. “It will 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 and spur American economic growth while also bolstering national security.”