Quantum stock soars on reports that President Trump is eyeing investments in groups such as Intel and rare earth companies

The Trump administration is in talks with multiple quantum computing companies about giving them Commerce Department stock in exchange for federal funding, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The newspaper, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, said these companies include: ion Q, righetti computing and D Wave Quantum. Other companies, e.g. Quantum Computing Co., Ltd.. added that Atom Computing is considering a similar arrangement.

Aeon Q stock rose 6% on Thursday. DWave rose 16%. Righetti added 8%. Quantum computing rose 7%.

The news is consistent with Washington’s recent efforts to acquire stakes in major companies in industries deemed essential to U.S. national security, particularly those receiving public funding.

One of the early examples of US President Donald Trump’s second term was when the Department of Defense invested $400 million in US rare earths company MP Materials, taking about a 15% stake in the company.

A month later, the government acquired about 10% of the semiconductor company Intel. Intel is the only American company that can manufacture advanced AI processors on American soil.

Each investment in a quantum computing company will have a minimum funding amount of $10 million, the magazine reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Other technology companies are also expected to compete for grants.

The U.S. government’s growing interest in acquiring stakes in private companies is completely unprecedented in recent decades, especially outside of the financial crisis, and signals an ideological shift toward greater intervention in certain industries.

However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an exclusive interview with CNBC on October 15 that the Trump administration has no intention of acquiring stakes in non-strategic industries, adding: “We have to be very careful not to go too far.”

President Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick have argued that if federal funds help companies grow, the government should profit from their success.

The targeted industries also appear to reflect the United States’ focus on technological and economic competition with China.

For example, the U.S. investment in MP Materials comes after China restricted exports of rare earth elements, essential ingredients in high-tech products, prompting the U.S. government to step up efforts to build domestic supply chains.

Intel’s funding also aligns with U.S. efforts to strengthen the domestic semiconductor industry to support a broader race for supremacy in artificial intelligence.

Quantum computing uses quantum mechanics to solve problems beyond the capabilities of most of today’s supercomputers, and is considered one of the strategically important technologies that the U.S. government should probably focus on next because of its profound economic and security implications.

Experts believe this cutting-edge technology could revolutionize fields such as medicine, finance and materials science by solving complex problems that are currently impossible with traditional computers, and could pose a serious threat to cybersecurity if it fell into the hands of an adversary.