Seven of nine: where the US government's quantum equity awards may go next
With Atom Computing's final award on November 13, the US Department of Commerce has now signed seven of the nine quantum incentives it announced as letters of intent in May. Only Infleqtion and Diraq are still at the letter stage. This forward-looking analysis explains what a signed award does and does not tell us, and which disclosures and milestones are worth watching next.
Where the program stands
On May 21, 2026, the Department of Commerce announced nine letters of intent worth $2.013 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act. IBM's new foundry subsidiary Anderon was offered $1 billion and GlobalFoundries $375 million. Atom Computing, D-Wave, Infleqtion, PsiQuantum and Quantinuum were offered $100 million each, Rigetti up to $100 million and Diraq up to $38 million. Commerce said it would take a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition of the funds.
| Recipient | Amount in the May letter | Status found on November 14, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| D-Wave, PsiQuantum, Quantinuum, Rigetti | Up to $100 million each | Final awards announced September 8, 2026 |
| GlobalFoundries | $375 million | Definitive agreement announced September 8, 2026 |
| Anderon (IBM) | $1 billion | Final award announced September 16, 2026 |
| Atom Computing | $100 million | Final award announced November 13, 2026 |
| Infleqtion | $100 million | No final award found; the company described a letter of intent on August 12 |
| Diraq | Up to $38 million | No final award found; the company still described a letter of intent on November 9 |
The Commerce notice for Atom Computing confirms an award of up to $100 million for neutral-atom hardware and systems integration aimed at controlling tens of thousands of qubits and validating their performance. The notice does not give an equity percentage, a payment schedule or milestones.
What a signed award does and does not show
- A ceiling, not cash. The notices say "up to." GlobalFoundries says it is eligible to receive up to $375 million over five years, tied to specified milestones. D-Wave says it now has access to up to $100 million.
- A contract, not proof of hardware. Atom Computing says the money will fund in-house technology, test-bed capacity and supply-chain work. Those are development goals, not delivered systems.
- Terms differ in how visible they are. D-Wave, which is publicly listed, filed an 8-K that lists risks including uncertain timing and amount of funding, dependence on appropriations, dilution from shares issued to the Department at a discount, and the possibility that the Department's stake could limit future strategic deals. Atom Computing is private, and neither its release nor the Commerce notice discloses equity terms.
- Company targets are company targets. D-Wave links the award to a planned 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model system. Atom Computing calls itself the only neutral-atom company in Stage C of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. Both are the companies' own statements.
Outlook (analysis)
This section is DesignQuantum™'s editorial reading of the public record. It is not a forecast of share prices or returns.
- The last two letters. Infleqtion's August 12 release said its proposed funding remains subject to definitive agreements and government approvals, and that the letter contemplates the Department receiving common stock. Diraq's November 9 release still describes a letter of intent. Seven of the nine letters have become contracts since May, but no source we found gives a date for either remaining deal.
- Disclosure from private recipients. Public companies disclose award terms in SEC filings. Whether private recipients such as Atom Computing publish equity and milestone terms is an open question worth tracking.
- Milestones. Because funds are tied to milestones, the first public evidence that a milestone was met, or missed, will say more about the program than the headline figures.
- Demand for foundries. Futurum's analysis of the Anderon award notes that no external customer has been named since May. Whether outside quantum companies become foundry customers is a separate test from the funding itself.
- Deliverables. Diraq says its Sydney system runs eight qubits and targets up to 256 within a year, and Infleqtion says it is on track for 30 logical qubits in 2026. These are claims to check against published results.
Informational only. Not investment advice. Quantum technology investments are speculative and can lose value. For how to read announcements like these, see our guide to reading a quantum computing announcement.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below, retrieved by DesignQuantum™.
- Department of Commerce Announces Finalization of CHIPS R&D Award with Atom Computing Inc. — NIST (Nov 13, 2026) nist.gov
- Department of Commerce Announces Letters of Intent With 9 Companies for $2 Billion — NIST (May 21, 2026) nist.gov
- Atom Computing Finalizes $100 Million U.S. Department of Commerce R&D Award — Atom Computing via Business Wire (Nov 13, 2026) businesswire.com
- Department of Commerce Announces Finalization of CHIPS R&D Award with D-Wave — NIST (Sep 8, 2026) nist.gov
- D-Wave Quantum Finalizes Definitive Agreement with U.S. Department of Commerce — D-Wave (Sep 8, 2026) dwavequantum.com
- D-Wave Quantum Inc. Form 8-K, risk factors (report date Sep 4, 2026) — SEC sec.gov
- GlobalFoundries and U.S. Department of Commerce finalize $375M R&D award — GlobalFoundries (Sep 8, 2026) investors.gf.com
- Anderon, an IBM Company, Finalizes Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $1 Billion CHIPS Award — IBM Newsroom (Sep 16, 2026) newsroom.ibm.com
- Anderon Finalizes $1 Billion CHIPS Award. Who Buys Quantum Wafers Besides IBM? — Futurum (Sep 2026) futurumgroup.com
- Infleqtion Reports Record Q2 Revenue — Infleqtion, 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (Aug 12, 2026) ir.infleqtion.com
- Diraq deploys world's first silicon spin quantum computer inside a commercial data center — Diraq via GlobeNewswire (Nov 9, 2026) globenewswire.com