US Department of War announces $350m in quantum computing initiatives

[Zach]

The US Department of War has announced around $350 million in quantum computing initiatives, through the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering. We covered the biggest part of it already, when DARPA moved Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM and IonQ into Stage C of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. This release puts that inside a wider package. There are three components in total

The first is about $200 million of new funding for QBI Stage C. That is the final stage, where a government team checks whether proposed utility scale machines can be built and run as designed. The four new entrants use neutral atoms, silicon spin qubits, superconducting processors and trapped ions. Microsoft and PsiQuantum were already at the equivalent stage through the earlier US2QC pilot

The second is a conditional loan of up to $150 million from the Office of Strategic Capital to PsiQuantum. It would fund PsiQuantum's 140,000 square foot manufacturing and prototyping hub in Milpitas, California, covering test equipment, assembly and integration infrastructure and cryogenic systems. PsiQuantum will add its own money. The loan still depends on financial, legal, technical and regulatory conditions being met

The third part has no dollar figure attached. DARPA will run workshops with the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the NNSA and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences to identify applications, starting before January 2027. The focus will be on chemistry, materials science and physics. That ties in neatly with the DOE's list of eight priority science problems that we discussed this week

QBI managing director Micah Stoutimore said Stage C is where they begin moving from plans to proof. PsiQuantum CEO Victor Peng said the announcement shows the government's bold leadership and continued commitment to quantum computing. Whatever you think of defence money in science, it is clear the US is putting serious public funding behind building a useful quantum computer by the early 2030s. Other countries will be watching closely

Is defence the right home for this kind of funding? And how should the UK respond to spending on this scale?

Department Of War Announces 350 Million In Quantum Computing Initiativeswww.war.gov