U.S. Invests Up to $100 Million Each in D-Wave, Rigetti as Quantum Race Intensifies
Updated
Updated · The Motley Fool · Jun 10
U.S. Invests Up to $100 Million Each in D-Wave, Rigetti as Quantum Race Intensifies
2 articles · Updated · The Motley Fool · Jun 10
Summary
$100 million equity commitments for D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing mark a rare U.S. move to take direct stakes in private-sector tech, aimed at national security and cutting dependence on foreign rivals.
Rigetti would receive the funding over three years to advance superconducting quantum systems, but its latest 108-qubit machine missed a 99.5% fidelity target and the company failed to reach DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative Stage B.
D-Wave's $100 million backing supports its 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model effort; the company already sells annealing machines commercially, though it has yet to publish milestones for its newer dual-rail architecture.
The investments span multiple quantum approaches rather than endorse one winner, with U.S. backing also extending to neutral-atom and trapped-ion players such as Infleqtion and Quantinuum.
That broad spread suggests Washington is hedging across competing technologies even as accuracy leaders in trapped-ion systems still outpace D-Wave and Rigetti on key technical metrics.
Can government-backed Rigetti's speed-focused quantum tech win the race when rivals already boast far superior accuracy?
As China commits over $15 billion to quantum research, are the U.S. government's $100 million startup investments enough to win?
America’s $2 Billion Quantum Leap: Inside the Largest-Ever Federal Investment and Its Geopolitical Stakes
Overview
In May 2026, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a historic $2.013 billion investment in quantum computing under the CHIPS and Science Act. This initiative aims to propel American innovation by accelerating technology roadmaps, moving quantum systems from lab prototypes to standardized, data-center-ready platforms. A key goal is to build a resilient onshore supply chain, protecting the U.S. quantum ecosystem from global microelectronics risks and creating thousands of high-tech jobs. Central to this effort is the launch of Anderon, the nation’s first dedicated quantum foundry, which will help transition quantum technologies into practical, scalable solutions for industry and national security.