NEW YORK, May 22, 2026, 05:45 EDT
D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Infleqtion shares all jumped more than 30% on Thursday as traders reacted to fresh U.S. government funding tied to quantum tech. D-Wave ended up 33.37% at $25.74, Rigetti added 30.57% at $22.04, and Infleqtion gained 31.48% to close at $14.70. IBM and GlobalFoundries moved higher, too.
Commerce is shifting from research grants to action, signing nine letters of intent tied to $2.013 billion in CHIPS Act incentives. These aren’t final awards, but the department said it would get minority, non-controlling equity stakes in each business.
Markets head into a quieter period before the long weekend. U.S. stocks trade normal hours Friday, but bonds close early. Both are shut Monday for Memorial Day.
D-Wave said it signed a letter of intent for $100 million in proposed funding aimed at both its annealing and gate-model systems. The company uses annealing mainly for optimization; gate-model machines are the kind of quantum computers most investors expect. CEO Alan Baratz called the news a “transformative moment.” ir.dwavequantum.com
Rigetti said it signed an LOI for as much as $100 million over three years, aimed at superconducting quantum-computing research. The systems use circuits that are cooled to very low temperatures. CEO Subodh Kulkarni said the money would let Rigetti “tackle key scaling bottlenecks.” Rigetti & Co, LLC
Infleqtion could get up to $100 million if it hits certain milestones, with the money aimed at its neutral-atom tech. The system traps atoms and uses them as qubits, the building blocks for quantum computing. CEO Matt Kinsella called quantum computing a “foundational technology” for staying competitive and secure. Infleqtion, Inc.
IBM and Commerce are both putting $1 billion into Anderon, which is set up as a separate quantum wafer foundry in Albany, New York. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said Anderon would be “well-positioned” to support quantum in the U.S. IBM Newsroom
GlobalFoundries announced a $375 million LOI to expand Quantum Technology Solutions, saying the Commerce Department is set to get roughly a 1% stake. CEO Tim Breen said the move backs domestic manufacturing and “supply-chain resilience.” markets.businessinsider.com
Washington is making it known it wants quantum capacity inside the U.S., and not just experimental setups. The market saw this as a nod to the smaller players, which still need big investment, long waits, and belief that commercial quantum machines are coming.
But the trade looks shaky. These awards aren’t finalized yet and depend on final documents. Equity structures may bring dilution back as a worry for investors. On top of that, practical quantum computers still have big technical hurdles, like error rates that can ruin calculations before they’re useful.
Friday’s focus is if traders stick with the theme after the initial policy shock or cash out gains ahead of the holiday. The next real test comes later: signed contracts, milestone checks, and signs federal money is speeding up the move from lab research to actual commercial products.
