Four more companies–IBM, IonQ, Atom Computing, and Diraq–just advanced to Stage C of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), joining previous entrants Microsoft and PsiQuantum.
Stage C is the final concept validation stage, where companies work with the government to verify that their proposals for utility-scale quantum computers can be built. PsiQuantum and Microsoft already were in Stage C, as both of those firms earlier advanced due to their participation in a QBI precursor called the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC), which allowed them to skip Stage B.
The Stage C participation agreements are worth up to $300 million in funding, so advancing is not just about getting a gold star. Beyond the funding, it remains unclear what successful Stage C validation could translate to in the broader market. The QBI program is all about separating quantum hype from reality, but there could be some extra promotional value in just participating, let alone advancing. Ultimately, these companies will find out if saying, “We were validated by the US government” retains any value.
This news comes almost a year after 11 companies entered Stage B, during which participants needed to have their R&D plans reviewed and demonstrate prototypes.
“Stage B is about putting the performers’ plans under a microscope: understanding the assumptions, identifying the risks, and determining whether the proposed development paths could plausibly get all the way to utility scale,” said QBI Managing Director Micah Stoutimore. “Stage C is where we begin moving from plans to proof. Our team will be closely scrutinizing the hardware and systems as they develop to determine whether the technology performs the way the models and roadmaps say it should.”
The new Stage C qualifiers represent four different qubit modalities, as follows
- Atom Computing: Boulder, Colorado (scalable arrays of neutral atoms)
- Diraq: Sydney, Australia (silicon CMOS spin qubits)
- IBM: Yorktown Heights, New York (quantum computing with modular superconducting processors)
- IonQ: College Park, Maryland (trapped-ion quantum computing)
DARPA has emphasized that the QBI, which has involved more than 20 companies so far, is not a competition, but rather an evaluation of different approaches to understand how to achieve utility-scale quantum computing (and how soon). Multiple companies continue to be involved at different stages. For example, Quandela joined Stage A just this year.
Quantum News Nexus is a site from freelance writer and editor Dan O’Shea that covers quantum computing, quantum sensing, quantum networking, quantum-safe security, and more. You can find him on X @QuantumNewsGuy and doshea14@gmail.com.
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