Trump admin not negotiating equity stakes with quantum firms: Commerce official

In this article

The U.S. government is not in talks with quantum computing companies to take equity stakes in the firms in exchange for federal funding, a Commerce Department official told CNBC.

“The Commerce Department is not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum computing companies,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The denial comes after the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said that the Trump administration was in talks with companies including IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum.

During trading on Thursday, Rigetti