Trump team explores direct ownership in quantum computing firms

The Trump administration is in active talks to take equity stakes in at least seven different quantum computing companies, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Commerce Department is negotiating with IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum to exchange federal funding for equity, a plan that would make Washington a shareholder in a sector it calls “critical to the nation’s technological and economic strength.”

Shares of IonQ ($IONQ) and most other major quantum computing stocks surged more than 14% after the news broke. While valuations in the sector have climbed sharply this year, some of those gains had cooled in recent weeks.

The US government is offering at least $10 million per company, with more firms such as Quantum Computing Inc. and Atom Computing considering similar arrangements.

Officials involved in the talks allegedly said that this new round of funding will be managed under Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s revamped Chips Research and Development Office, which he reorganized to redirect billions originally allocated by the Biden administration.

The goal is to fund companies that can strengthen U.S. dominance in fields like quantum computing, semiconductors, and advanced materials. Both President Trump and Lutnick have argued that if taxpayer money is being used to support private companies, the public should also benefit financially when those firms succeed.

“If we’re providing funding and credibility, the government should share in the upside,” Trump said earlier this month.

Commerce aims for equity, not handouts

In August, Cryptopolitan reported that Washington has converted nearly $9 billion in grants into equity to secure a 10% ownership stake in Intel, instantly making the government the company’s largest shareholder.

That deal followed a similar arrangement with one of the few U.S. rare-earth producers, and another where the Energy Department received warrants to buy shares of a lithium startup in exchange for a federal loan.

Deputy Commerce Secretary Paul Dabbar, a former Energy Department official and ex-CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, is leading the current discussions.A department spokesperson confirmed that Bohr Quantum will not be part of any funding package.

Dabbar’s experience gives the Commerce Department deep familiarity with the technical side of quantum computing as it decides how to structure these deals. Documents reviewed by the Journal indicate the funding agreements may also include royalties, intellectual property licenses, revenue sharing, or warrants in addition to direct equity.

Industry executives say the prospect of government ownership is a big moment for the quantum sector. Quantum Computing Inc. CEO Yuping Huang called the potential arrangement “an exciting step” toward faster adoption of the technology.

A Rigetti Computing spokeswoman said the firm is “continuously engaging with the government on funding opportunities,” while Allison Schwartz, who oversees government relations for D-Wave, said the company “wants to sell systems that can solve the government’s hardest problems and get a return on investment.” Atom Computing and IonQ both declined to comment on the talks.

Meanwhile, companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Google are racing to develop machines that can perform calculations impossible for traditional systems.

Google’s quantum computer now runs 13,000 times faster than the fastest supercomputers, according to them, which would be even faster than China’s best.

Analysts say quantum systems could speed up research in drug discovery, materials science, and chemical modeling.