DARPA Cuts Quantum Computing Participants by Half
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has significantly reduced the number of companies in its quantum computing development program. Only four companies will advance to the next stage, receiving substantial funding and testing opportunities.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced yesterday that it has halved the number of companies participating in its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). The agency selected four companies to advance to Stage C of the program, widely considered the most rigorous vetting process for cutting-edge quantum hardware.
In November, DARPA had chosen 11 companies for Stage B, tasking them with demonstrating viable research and development plans, identifying risks, and producing prototypes for building a 'utility-scale' quantum computer by 2033. Such a computer is expected to generate more revenue than its operational costs.
Companies progressing to Stage C will now build and test their systems, working with the government to validate their designs and operational capabilities. Each Stage C participant is eligible for up to $300 million in U.S. government funding.
The four selected companies are Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM, and IonQ. They join Microsoft and PsiQuantum, which advanced to Stage C earlier through a parallel evaluation. The chosen companies represent diverse quantum computing approaches, including superconducting circuits, neutral atoms, trapped ions, and silicon spin qubits.