Trump Administration in Talks to Take Equity Stakes in Quantum-Computing Firms - WSJ

[In It to Win It]

WSJ - Gift Link

WASHINGTON—Several quantum-computing companies are in talks to give the Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding, a signal that the Trump administration is expanding its interventions in what it sees as critical segments of the economy.

Companies including IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D-Wave Quantum are discussing the government becoming a shareholder as part of agreements to get funding earmarked for promising technology companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Other companies such as Quantum Computing Inc. and Atom Computing are considering similar arrangements.

The companies are discussing minimum funding awards from Washington of $10 million each, some of the people said. Other technology companies are also expected to vie for the funding.

The discussions are the latest example of administration moves to become a shareholder in some companies. President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have said the government should share in a company’s upside since taxpayer money provides financial support and a stamp of approval.

The funding the companies are seeking comes from the Chips Research and Development Office, which Lutnick has reorganized under his overhaul of how the agency manages 2022 Chips Act funding. He recently clawed back several billion dollars from a tech research initiative funded by the Biden administration.

The visible hand

— jon ben-menachem (@jbenmenachem.com) 2025-10-23T04:57:57.082Z

[fujiyamasan]

1. Right now these are essentially "meme" stocks

They’ve had an incredible rise based on little but hype and speculation.

As always Trump needs to wet his beak. And of course, if you look at the stock prices of these quantum stocks pre market , they’re up double digits.

Don’t you love this “free” market?!