US-Backed IBM, D-Wave CHIPS Deals Expand Quantum Push

extract

US-Backed IBM, D-Wave CHIPS Deals Expand Quantum Push IBM and D-Wave deals show Washington expanding CHIPS-era industrial policy beyond semiconductors into quantum manufacturing and compute. Quantum computing is becoming the next front in Washington’s strategic compute agenda, with proposed federal support moving beyond semiconductor fabs and AI infrastructure into quantum computing and systems. IBM and the US Department of Commerce on Thursday announced plans for what the companies described as America’s first purpose-built quantum foundry, a facility backed by up to $1 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act. The project would manufacture advanced quantum wafers and scale domestic quantum hardware production. The company tied the project to domestic supply chain resilience and long-term US leadership in advanced computing. “Quantum computing represents one of the most important technology shifts of the coming decades, and establishing a domestic quantum manufacturing base is critical to ensuring US leadership in advanced computing,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in the announcement. The foundry proposal landed alongside a separate federal quantum funding initiative involving D-Wave Quantum. Under the proposed CHIPS agreement outlined by the Commerce Department, the government would provide funding to support D-Wave’s superconducting annealing and gate-model quantum computing programs, and, upon execution of final award documents, receive a $100 million equity stake in the company. The proposed award would support work at a planned research facility in Boca Raton, Fla., and existing R&D operations in Connecticut and British Columbia. Together, the IBM and D-Wave proposals show Washington is broadening industrial policy beyond semiconductor manufacturing and AI infrastructure into quantum computing, which federal officials increasingly describe as strategically important for national security and economic competitiveness, including applications in cryptography, material science, pharmaceuticals, and energy modeling. Although quantum computing still trails AI in commercial deployment and revenue scale, investment has accelerated. McKinsey reported that quantum technology startup investment hit $12.6 billion in 2025, and industry groups project the market could more than double over the next several years as governments and hyperscalers increase spending on next-generation compute systems. Image: D-Wave CHIPS Push Broadens Within CHIPS, the scope has broadened. Initially focused on semiconductor fabs and domestic chip supply chains, the program’s outlays have increasingly encompassed AI accelerators, advanced packaging, networking hardware, power infrastructure, and, most recently, quantum manufacturing and quantum compute systems. Paul Smith-Goodson, vice president and principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, said the federal government’s deeper involvement in quantum infrastructure has intensified amid growing concerns around cryptographically relevant quantum computing (CRQC). “The decision to do this was made last year,” Smith-Goodson told Data Center Knowledge. “Recent concerns about CRQC are another factor that makes this a national security issue in addition to being competitive in quantum on a global scale.” The D-Wave proposal also signals a more interventionist federal approach than traditional technology grants. Under the proposed deal, the Commerce Department would receive common stock in exchange for funding. “One of the major factors is simple: Trump prefers equity investments over grants,” Smith-Goodson said. Reuters reported this week that broader federal quantum awards may include additional government equity stakes across the sector. Smith-Goodson said the IBM proposal mirrors the structure and language of earlier semiconductor manufacturing initiatives backed by CHIPS funding. “IBM is spinning out a standalone company modeled on the pure-play foundry concept that defines the semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure,” he said.From Labs to Infrastructure For data center operators, the implications extend beyond experimental quantum processors. Industrial-scale quantum systems rely on specialized infrastructure that can include dilution refrigeration, advanced photonics, precision power conditioning, and hybrid orchestration between classical and quantum systems. As those systems mature, deployments could cluster near hyperscale, HPC, or research-oriented campuses where power, cooling expertise, and high-bandwidth networking are already in place. A dedicated quantum foundry would mark a shift from laboratory breakthroughs and research milestones toward industrialization and supply-chain stabilization, even as the field continues to grapple with error correction, qubit stability, scalability, and commercial viability. Smith-Goodson said the IBM proposal goes beyond symbolic positioning and could reshape the economics of the US quantum hardware market. “This is definitely more than a positioning play,” he said. “Once up and running it will be an operational transformation.” He compared the proposed structure to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s role in the semiconductor industry. “TSMC is the model – a neutral fab that manufactures for competitors,” Smith-Goodson said. “The announcement's results will likely change the economics of our entire quantum hardware ecosystem.” Quantum computing still faces major technical hurdles around error correction, qubit stability, scalability, and commercial viability. Gate-Model Questions Remain D-Wave said the proposed funding would help accelerate development of a planned 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-physical-qubit gate-model system intended for optimization, materials science, AI, blockchain, and quantum chemistry workloads. But Smith-Goodson drew a distinction between D-Wave’s established annealing business and its gate-model ambitions: “I see no issues with annealing where D-Wave has real customer traction and significant growth,” he said. “However, I don’t have much confidence in its gate-model push, which seems more reactive than results-driven.” He added that larger rivals continue investing heavily in fault-tolerant quantum systems (FTQC) and that “2028 forward is when early FTQC becomes available,” a timeline that could challenge D-Wave’s roadmap. Whether or not the proposals advance on their current timelines, the IBM foundry project and D-Wave investment proposal suggest Washington’s definition of critical infrastructure is expanding beyond semiconductors toward broader control over future compute architectures – including quantum.