United States invests US$2 billion in quantum computing and takes stakes in nine companies

The U.S. government announced in May 2026 an investment of about US$2.013 billion in nine quantum computing companies. In exchange for the money, the government is taking a minority equity stake in each one, an unprecedented condition for this sector and the country's largest bet on quantum research to date.

IBM is receiving the largest share, US$1 billion, to build the country's first quantum wafer fab. The rest is being distributed among manufacturers and startups competing to be first to deliver a useful quantum computer.

What the United States announced

The Department of Commerce, through NIST, signed letters of intent with the nine companies and confirmed that it will take a minority, non-controlling stake in each one. Requiring equity in exchange for funding is an unusual move for the government, and this is the first time it has applied it to an emerging technology. The funds come from the CHIPS and Science Act, the 2022 law designed to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States.

Here is the main allocation:

The package covers nine companies in total. In addition to those above, industry reports include Atom Computing, PsiQuantum, and Quantinuum, with amounts close to US$100 million each.

Anderon, the first pure quantum foundry in the United States

IBM's case is different from the others. The company will use its share to create Anderon, a separate company based in Albany, New York, that will operate as a 300-millimeter quantum wafer fab. The project combines the US$1 billion subsidy with another US$1 billion contributed by IBM, plus intellectual property, assets, and personnel.

What matters is the model. Anderon would be the world's first "pure" quantum foundry: a neutral plant that produces wafers for third parties, not only for IBM. Nothing like this exists today. Every quantum computer in operation is manufactured end to end by the same company that designs it.

The idea is to become the TSMC equivalent for quantum: an independent manufacturer to which other companies outsource their chips. It would offer 300-millimeter processes with superconducting wiring and silicon vias, ready for production at scale. Those wafers will feed chips such as IBM's Nighthawk, with which the company is aiming for the first fault-tolerant quantum computer in 2029.

There is one nuance worth noting. The Anderon announcement did not include a declared government stake, unlike the 10% stake the government took in Intel. And everything remains a letter of intent, subject to the signing of definitive documents.

The market Anderon could sell to is also limited for now. Its natural customers are other superconducting-qubit companies, such as Rigetti or SEEQC. Google manufactures its own, and companies working with trapped ions or topological qubits use processes that do not fit this line.

The US$10 billion IBM is putting in on its own

In June 2026, IBM added its own figure: more than US$10 billion in quantum computing over the next five years. This is separate from the government subsidy, and the two should not be confused: one is government money tied to an equity stake; the other is capital IBM is allocating to research, manufacturing, partnerships, and acquisitions.

IBM enters this bet with the world's largest fleet of quantum computers and with Qiskit, the software used by around 70% of developers in the field.

How the market reacted

Shares of the companies included in the package jumped on the day of the announcement. Startups such as D-Wave, Rigetti, and Infleqtion climbed sharply, several by more than 30%, while IBM and GlobalFoundries rose more moderately. Even IonQ, which was not on the list, gained around 12%.

The surge shows investor appetite for a sector that still generates very little revenue. It is the same signal seen when the government took a stake in Intel: expectations matter more than current income.

Why the government is taking equity

The move fits into a broader industrial policy. The Trump administration had already taken a stake in Intel, close to 10%, and in MP Materials, the rare-earths miner. The logic is to secure supply chains considered critical and counter China's advance.

In quantum, the argument is twofold. First, manufacturing sovereignty: producing most of the world's quantum wafers inside the country. Second, national security, because a quantum computer capable of breaking today's cryptography would change the playing field. The industry estimates that the sector could generate up to US$850 billion in economic value by 2040.

Conclusion

Behind the headlines are two stories that should not be mixed up: the US$2 billion subsidy tied to equity stakes, and the US$10 billion IBM is putting in separately. Together, they show that quantum computing has moved beyond a laboratory promise and become a matter of state policy.

The most concrete piece is not the money, but the foundry. If Anderon works as the TSMC of quantum, the United States secures the manufacturing base for an entire industry, something no other region has today.

For the quantum industry, the announcement is oxygen: it funds years of research without demanding revenue that does not yet exist. For anyone watching from the outside as an investor, caution still applies: these are letters of intent, not signed contracts, for a technology whose real-world usefulness is still being proven.

Author

Alexis Paez