The Trump administration intends to give $2 billion to nine companies working on quantum computing, and will also take small ownership shares in each of them. This approach changes traditional government grants into investments similar to those made by venture capital firms, covering a variety of different quantum computing technologies.
Following the report, stocks for IBM, GlobalFoundries, D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Infleqtion – trading under the symbols IBM, GFS, QBTS, RGTI, and INFQ respectively – all saw activity in premarket trading. These companies appear to be the most immediate winners in the US stock market as a result.
While other companies working on quantum technology might also benefit from growing interest in the field, these five are the specific stocks directly promoted by this program.
Trump’s Quantum Bet Sparks State-Backed Tech Race
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, referencing data from the Commerce Department, IBM is set to receive $1 billion in funding, and GlobalFoundries will receive $375 million. Six other companies will also receive funds, including D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, Infleqtion, and Diraq.
The U.S. government is investing $2 billion in nine quantum computing companies, and will also take ownership stakes in those companies, according to the Wall Street Journal. Key recipients of these funds include IBM, receiving $1 billion, followed by GFS with $375 million. QBTS, RGTI, and INFQ will each receive $100 million.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 21, 2026
The Commerce Department is changing how it distributes funds, now offering ownership stakes instead of traditional grants. This new approach is similar to a deal made last year involving Trump’s intelligence firm.
The deal turned $5.7 billion from the CHIPS Act into approximately 433 million shares of Intel stock, which later became worth over $56 billion.
The companies involved represent all the leading methods in quantum computing. IBM and Rigetti are focused on superconducting qubits, while D-Wave uses quantum annealing, and Infleqtion specializes in neutral atoms.
Diraq is a $38 million project focused on developing silicon spin qubits. The company is strategically investing in a variety of different approaches, spreading its risk across multiple technologies.
“Trump’s next big bet is on quantum computing,” wrote the Kobeissi Letter.
Shares of publicly traded recipients climbed between 7% and 21% in premarket trading on the news.
Those who favor this method call it ‘strategic capitalism.’ They believe that when the government invests in risky new technologies, it should share in the profits if those investments pay off.
However, some argue that when the government owns part of private companies, it creates confusion about fair regulation and looks like the government is unfairly controlling the market.
One person questioned whether the government’s investments in quantum computing, chips, and materials represent smart strategic capitalism or unfair market interference, noting the government is actually taking ownership stakes in these companies.
Government Equity Mirrors The Crypto VC Playbook
As an analyst, I’m seeing a very specific pattern in Commerce’s investment strategy. It reminds me of how leading crypto funds like a16z and Paradigm operate – they don’t just pick a single winner. Instead, they broadly invest across an entire category – Layer 1s, Layer 2s, restaking, DePIN – betting on the overall *idea* succeeding, rather than a specific project. Commerce appears to be taking a similar approach, and I’m tracking their investments in…
- Superconducting through IBM and Rigetti
- Annealing through D-Wave
- Neutral atoms via Infleqtion
- Silicon spin through Diraq, and
- Chip fab support via GlobalFoundries
Diversified bets across competing hardware approaches where nobody knows which one scales.
Someone pointed out that the U.S. government is now acting like a venture capitalist. They’re investing $2 billion from the CHIPS Act into quantum computing, but instead of just providing funding, they’re also taking ownership stakes in the companies they invest in.
This investment structure is similar to a standard SAFE agreement or token warrant: you contribute capital upfront, with the potential for returns only if the technology is successfully launched.
IBM’s significant $1 billion investment is the main funding source, while the $38 million investment in Diraq is a smaller, early-stage venture.
Similar to venture capital firms investing in crypto, the government can’t directly manage these companies, but it holds enough ownership to benefit from their success.
Let’s break down how crypto venture funds work. They operate much like traditional tech venture capital firms: they receive money from investors (Limited Partners, or LPs) and invest it in new, early-stage crypto companies and projects in exchange for ownership (equity) or rights to the project’s tokens, or both. One key difference is that these funds can actually *hold* these tokens directly, which offers the potential for higher returns and quicker profits, but also carries a significant risk of sudden losses. Top-performing funds also offer…
— Sandmark (@sandmark_news) May 21, 2026
The core difference lies in the goals. Crypto funds aim to maximize returns for their investors, whereas Washington is focused on gaining a strategic advantage over China. Beyond that, the way these groups invest is actually quite similar.
The rise of quantum computing is raising new concerns about the security of cryptocurrencies. If quantum computers become powerful enough, they could potentially crack the encryption that protects digital wallets holding Bitcoin and Ethereum, putting those funds at risk.
IBM’s top technology leader recently cautioned that the potential dangers of quantum computing are developing more quickly than anticipated.
According to Michael Osborne, CTO of IBM Quantum Safe, building useful quantum computers requires extremely high-quality qubits. He warned against simply accepting reported numbers, as these estimates often depend on underlying assumptions about the computer’s design, the complexity of the calculations, and how traditional and quantum computing resources work together, as he told BeInCrypto.
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Experts can’t agree on when quantum computing might pose a threat to Bitcoin, with predictions varying from just a few years to many decades.
Cryptocurrency networks are starting to prepare for potential threats. For example, BNB Chain recently ran a test to see how its system would hold up against a quantum computing attack.
The specifics of voting rights, restrictions on selling shares, and exit strategies haven’t been revealed yet. These details are crucial to understanding if the deal will operate like a venture capital investment or a standard government grant, similar to the CHIPS Act.
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2026-05-21 16:12