Calif · White House · Ars Technica
US's big bet on quantum computing may not be entirely legal
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Last week, the US government announced $2 billion in investments in quantum computing companies, allocating $100 million each to a range of startups in exchange for equity in the companies.
Key facts
- Last week, the US government announced $2 billion in investments in quantum computing companies, allocating $100 million each to a range of startups in exchange for equity in the companies
- Given that, it’s somewhat surprising that IBM is choosing to spin these efforts into a separate company, called Anderon, which it will fund with $1 billion, alongside an equal government investment
- Finally, she noted that the largest sum of money will go to IBM, and she suggested that a former IBM executive (Dario Gil, current Under Secretary for Science at the Department of Energy)
- Anderon will be set up with a billion dollars each from IBM and the government and will inherit personnel and IP from IBM
Summary
But the biggest chunk of money would go to a company that likely wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the government’s backing. Zoe Lofgren (D–Calif.), the ranking member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, made it clear that she is not happy with how the government is using its money to support this technology. “This announcement is illegal and troubling on so many levels,” Lofgren said one day after the announcement, pointing out that the money being used for the deal comes from the CHIPS and Science Act, which was passed during the Biden administration and was allocated “specifically for microelectronics R&D, with a focus on semiconductor technology.” That technology overlaps only partially, at best, with what’s used in quantum processors.