Quantum Stocks Just Got a Lifeline—Who Benefits Most?

Key Points

• The Department of Commerce plans to provide more than $2 billion in funding to a number of quantum computing firms including D-Wave and Rigetti.
• Both of those companies are slated to receive $100 million to support various technological advances.
• IonQ is a leader in the quantum space but is not named for funding support, though it may still benefit from an overall boost to the industry.

May 2026 has been a rollercoaster month for companies in the quantum computing industry, as leaders like D-Wave Quantum Inc. NYSE: QBTS, IonQ Inc. NYSE: IONQ, and Rigetti Computing NASDAQ: RGTI fell for much of the month, despite some promising Q1 results, before surging sharply toward month-end.

The swing upwards may be due to a recent announcement that the federal government is interested in providing incentives to a handful of domestic quantum firms. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently signed letters of intent with nine quantum computing companies—including both foundries and broader computing names—to provide more than $2 billion in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act.

The immediate move upward in share price is to be expected, but investors will want to know what this might mean for the industry over the longer term. A closer look at the three companies above—among the biggest names in quantum and established leaders in the field—may provide more context.

D-Wave: A Big Boost to a Cash Pile That's Already Sizable

D-Wave is slated to receive $100 million in funding from the Commerce Department as part of the incentives plan. Specifically, this funding will go toward advancements in both annealing and gate-model systems.

The firm has distinguished itself among quantum companies by taking this dual-focused approach, and an influx of cash may make a big difference in its timeline as it tries to balance technological developments in two areas at once.

Cash has not been a major concern for D-Wave for quite some time, as the company now has a solid history of building up strong cash reserves (and deploying that cash for key acquisitions, among other things). While $100 million will certainly help, the company was not hurting for capital. In this way, it's possible that the federal influx will be less transformative for D-Wave than it might be for a smaller firm or one with more modest reserves. Of course, a boost to D-Wave's defense and government procurement access will also be beneficial.

Rigetti: Cash Influx to Support Scaling, But Challenges Remain

Rigetti is another company slated to receive $100 million in planned funding. In this case, the company is charged with addressing challenges necessary to develop and scale superconducting architectures.

This could add to Rigetti's strong history as a developer of superconducting quantum systems and could smooth over some of the company's execution consistency issues and scaling concerns.

The cash infusion will likely help Rigetti extend its runway separate from the success of its shares, to build its supply chain access, and, like D-Wave, to boost its integration into various federal and defense programs. As a smaller firm than IonQ, Rigetti may see a larger boost than some other firms targeted for support. Still, challenges to scaling superconducting systems are formidable, and Rigetti still faces an uphill battle compared to established rivals like IBM NYSE: IBM.

IonQ: Indirect Benefits, If Any

Although the federal government outlined a list of quantum companies slated to receive funding, IonQ was not included in the initial announcement of May 21. Investors may see this as a slight, given that IonQ is one of the most prominent publicly traded quantum firms. However, with a market capitalization more than double that of D-Wave and nearly triple that of Rigetti, IonQ may be better established than some of its rivals.

Further, the federal awards seem to be primarily focused on fabrication and materials engineering, and IonQ's unique trapped-ion approach may rely less on fabrication infrastructure than some other firms, making it a less obvious candidate for funding support.

Regardless of the reason for not being included on the list, IonQ will likely benefit only indirectly from an overall surge in quantum computing stocks. Many of these firms' share prices are still moving largely in tandem, and IonQ already got a big boost following the announcement.

Potential Downsides

The three firms above could benefit in different ways from federal government support, but none of them will receive nearly as much funding as GlobalFoundries Inc. NASDAQ: GFS and IBM, each slated to receive several times the $100-million incentive above to support foundry activities. Further, with a government stake, there may be concerns about shareholder dilution to wrestle with, which could, in fact, give IonQ an advantage in at least one way.