U.S. Gov not considering equity stakes in quantum firms, says Yahoo Finance

Investing.com -- The Trump administration is not necessarily considering taking equity stakes in quantum computing companies, according to Yahoo Finance, citing a person familiar with the matter.

This clarification comes after The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that several quantum-computing companies, including IONQ Inc (NYSE: IONQ), Rigetti Computing Inc (NASDAQ: RGTI), and D Wave Quantum Inc (NYSE: QBTS), were negotiating with the Commerce Department to give equity stakes in exchange for federal funding.

While these companies have reached out to the White House with proposals, the administration is receiving numerous pitches for equity stakes, the source told Yahoo Finance.

Any potential investment would use leftover funds from the Trump administration’s revisions to Biden-era Chips Act commitments. The arrangements being considered might involve warrants or loans rather than direct equity stakes, and may not involve the specific companies mentioned in the report.

The Journal had also reported that Quantum Computing Inc (NASDAQ: QUBT) and Atom Computing were considering similar arrangements with the government.

Investor interest has grown around the Trump administration’s government investment policies, including the government’s 10% stake in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and "golden share" partnerships with US Steel Corp. and Japan’s Nippon Steel.

The Defense Department has acquired stakes in MP Materials Corp (NYSE: MP) and Trilogy Metals Inc (NYSE: TMQ), while the Energy Department has taken an equity position in Lithium Americas Corp (NYSE: LAC). All such investments have caused the above stocks to surge.

Despite the clarification about quantum computing investments, related stocks maintained their gains on Thursday, with IonQ up 10%, Quantum Computing rising 7.2%, Rigetti Computing increasing 10%, and D-Wave Quantum climbing over 16%.

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