Two quantum computing firms founded by Canadians have each secured $100-million USD ($138-million CAD) investments under the US CHIPS and Science Act.
The news: After signing a letter of intent back in May, BC-founded and California-headquartered D-Wave announced on Tuesday that it received a strategic investment from the US government, giving the US Department of Commerce a minority, non-controlling equity stake in the company. Berkeley, Calif.-based Rigetti Computing, which was founded by Moose Jaw, Sask.-born former CEO Chad Rigetti, received a similar deal.
From the source: D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz said in a statement that the funding will bolster US domestic quantum capabilities, strengthen the quantum supply chain, and help bring quantum systems to market.
“The [US] Administration has made clear that US quantum leadership will require not only breakthrough research, but also the ability to scale, commercialize, and manufacture these technologies,” Baratz said.
The context: Founded in 1999 as a spin-out from the University of British Columbia, D-Wave relocated its headquarters from Burnaby, BC, to Palo Alto in 2023, but retained a presence in both cities.
Alongside D-Wave and Rigetti, Colorado-based Quantinuum also received a CHIPS Act investment on Tuesday. The US signalled it would use CHIPS funding to take equity stakes in quantum companies earlier this year, arguing that doing so would help build a domestic supply chain for quantum chips.
Final thought: Canada’s most recent federal budget committed $334 million CAD to the quantum industry, an amount dwarfed by the $53 billion USD in federal incentives committed by the US CHIPS Act. Julien Camirand Lemyre, CEO of Sherbrooke-based Nord Quantique, told The Globe and Mail last month that Canada’s public support for the sector may not be enough to keep his company in the country, as those US incentives are a “strong pull” that may force him to relocate.
Feature image courtesy D-Wave.
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