US is taking equity stakes in IBM and other quantum computing companies

Key points

• The US government has taken $2 billion worth of equity stakes in nine quantum computing companies, including one linked to the Trump family and another taken public by a current Pentagon official.
• IBM was the biggest beneficiary, along with firms including D-Wave Quantum, Atom Computing and PsiQuantum, according to The Financial Times and press releases from D-Wave and PsiQuantum.
• The deals reportedly aren't final and the White House is still soliciting proposals from other tech firms.
• "With today's CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation," said US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick in a statement.
• "These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities." PsiQuantum, which received $100 million, is connected to Donald Trump Jr.'s firm 1789 Capital.