International Business Machines Corp. shares surged as much as 11% in New York trading on Thursday, marking the biggest intraday gain in more than a year following the announcement of significant US government funding for quantum computing initiatives. According to reports from Bloomberg, the rally was triggered by the Trump administration's decision to award $1 billion to IBM to build a foundry for producing quantum computing chips as part of a broader strategy to bolster US leadership in the emerging industry.
IBM announced it will invest $1 billion into a new company called Anderon, which will produce the quantum computing processors, as reported by Bloomberg. The company stated this commitment alongside the government funding announcement on Thursday. The investment represents IBM's significant financial commitment to advancing quantum computing capabilities beyond the government funding allocation. Anderon will be based in New Albany, New York, and become America's first dedicated quantum chip manufacturing facility, according to Reuters. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Reuters that the new firm would offer its chipmaking technology to outside customers and was already in talks with potential clients, stating "They're going to get the exact same capability that we have for ourselves."
The quantum computing funding announcement had widespread positive effects across the industry, with shares of companies involved in the deal rising between 6% and 31% following the announcement, as reported by Reuters. Other quantum computing companies experienced substantial gains, including GlobalFoundries Inc. rising as much as 14% according to Bloomberg reports. The market response reflects investor confidence in the government's commitment to supporting quantum computing development.
The $2 billion support package from the Commerce Department for quantum computing uses resources from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, as reported by Bloomberg. The US government will receive minority, noncontrolling equity stakes in each of the companies in exchange for the awards, according to a Commerce Department statement. The funding comes from a research and development office that received $11 billion under the Chips Act, part of a broader $52 billion overall initiative signed by then-President Biden to boost the US semiconductor industry. The Trump administration will take $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum-computing companies, including the new IBM venture, in a major push to secure US leadership in the emerging technology and counter China.
Beyond IBM, the US government awarded funding to more than half-a-dozen other companies in the quantum computing sector. According to Reuters reports, GlobalFoundries is receiving $375 million to build a U.S. factory producing components for different types of quantum machines, with the company launching a new business called Quantum Technology Solutions focused on scaling manufacturing for quantum-computing hardware. D-Wave, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion will get about $100 million each, while Diraq will receive up to $38 million to tackle key technical hurdles holding back more powerful systems. Other recipients include Atom Computing Inc. and Quantinuum with $100 million awards each, and startup Diraq with $38 million in funding. Two of the recipients have ties to the administration: Emil Michael, the Pentagon's top technology official, took D-Wave public in 2022 through a blank-check firm, while PsiQuantum last year raised $1 billion from investors including Nvidia's venture capital arm and Donald Trump Jr.-backed 1789 Capital.
