Parts of the IBM Quantum System Two are displayed at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York on June 6, 2025.
The Trump administration is in talks with several quantum-computing firms about giving the Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The Journal, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, said the companies include IonQ , Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum . Other firms, such as Quantum Computing Inc . and Atom Computing, are considering similar arrangements, it added.
IonQ and D-Wave shares each jumped 9% in early trading Thursday. Rigetti added 7%. Quantum Computing was up 11%.
The news aligns with recent efforts by Washington to take stakes in major companies within industries seen as vital to U.S. national security, especially those receiving public funds.
One of the earliest examples under U.S. President Donald Trump's second term came when the Defense Department invested $400 million in American rare earths company MP Materials for about a 15% stake in the company.
A month later, the government took a roughly 10% stake in semiconductor firm Intel — the only American company capable of making advanced AI processors on U.S. soil.