US to invest in quantum computing firms in exchange for stakes

THE Trump administration is awarding grants to a handful of companies, including IBM, that are focused on quantum computing in exchange for stakes in some of them.

The investments deepen the Trump administration’s push into taking equity stakes in companies considered critical to the domestic supply chain as well as to counter China’s dominance in certain sectors, including chipmaking.

The government has already taken big stakes in companies such as Intel and MP Materials, a rare earth mining company.

IBM will receive US$1 billion, while GlobalFoundries is set to receive US$375 million, the two companies said in separate statements on Thursday.

Others, including D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion, will receive about US$100 million each for a US government stake in the companies.

Shares of companies that are part of the deal rose between 7 per cent and 25 per cent in pre-market trading.

The Trump administration is awarding a total of US$2 billion in grants to nine quantum-computing companies, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day.

Quantum computers are designed to process information exponentially faster than traditional supercomputers, though the technology still faces major technical hurdles including high error rates that limit their practical performance.

GlobalFoundries launched a new business called Quantum Technology Solutions focused on scaling manufacturing for quantum computing hardware, while the US government agreed to take an equity stake of about 1 per cent in the company.

SEE ALSO

Singapore’s Horizon Quantum seeks to capitalise on quantum computing’s turning point

The quantum window is open, but most Singapore companies could miss it

China to curb US investment in tech companies after Meta deal

IBM’s slower revenue growth fans AI worries, shares fall

Quantum safe and AI-ready: Empyrion Digital’s Singapore hub expands local footprint with over S$1.1 billion investment

More

IBM said it would launch a company called Anderon in New Albany, New York that would be America’s first dedicated quantum chip manufacturing facility.

Backed by US$1 billion in Chips Act incentives from the Commerce Department and a US$1 billion cash contribution from IBM, Anderon will operate as a 300-millimeter quantum wafer foundry.

IBM would also contribute intellectual property, assets and workforce to Anderon and will bring in additional investors as the new company scales.

“These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. REUTERS