Shares of quantum computing firms rose in premarket U.S. trading Thursday after a report said the Trump administration would award $2 billion in grants to nine companies in the sector.
Citing the Commerce Department, the Wall Street Journal reported the transaction would include equity stakes for the U.S. government. Washington has previously made deals with minority stakes in firms from other industries, such as magnet producer Vulcan Elements and miner MP Materials.
The Commerce Department has already agreed to give $1 billion of the package to IBM, viewed as a leader in building systems that harness quantum technology to operate faster than traditional supercomputers.
A total of $375 million has been allocated to GlobalFoundries, while D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion are each anticipated to receive $100 million. Startup Diraq will get $38 million.
Shares of these firms rose between 7% and 19% before the opening bell.
Along with artificial intelligence, quantum computing has become a focus for the Trump administration as it looks to bolster industries significant for economic and security reasons.
The WSJ report noted that all transactions, funded by money for early-stage technology initiatives included in the 2022 Chips and Science Act, still need to be completed.
A senior Commerce Department official told WSJ there is a clearer path to quantum becoming a reality. The paper also said the White House is working on a new executive order centered on the quantum computing industry.
