The US Commerce Department has announced plans to take minority, non-controlling equity stakes in seven quantum-computing companies as part of a wider programme of federal support. The move is significant because it links public funding to ownership interests, aiming to give taxpayers a potential financial return while strengthening US capability in a strategically important technology sector.

The seven companies—Atom Computing, Diraq, D-Wave, Infleqtion, PsiQuantum, Quantinuum and Rigetti—are set to receive funding for specific research and manufacturing challenges. They form part of a $2.013 billion CHIPS and Science Act package covering nine companies; IBM is due $1 billion for a quantum foundry subsidiary and GlobalFoundries $375 million for domestic quantum manufacturing. The department says the investments are intended to support progress towards large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers and improve national security and technological resilience.