DARPA Selects Nearly 20 Companies to Develop Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers

DARPA has selected nearly 20 quantum computing firms for the initial phase of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), a program aimed at assessing the feasibility of building a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2033.

The chosen companies will now detail their technical approaches over a six-month period.

Launched in July 2024, QBI is designed to evaluate whether quantum computers can achieve utility-scale operations—where their computational capabilities outweigh costs—at a faster pace than previously projected. The selected firms, which employ various quantum bit (qubit) technologies such as superconducting, trapped ion, and photonic qubits, were chosen after submitting written abstracts and oral presentations to U.S. quantum experts.

"For the chosen companies, now the real work begins," said Joe Altepeter, DARPA’s QBI program manager. "Stage A is a six-month sprint in which they’ll provide comprehensive technical details of their concepts to show that they hold water and could plausibly lead to a transformative, fault-tolerant quantum computer in under 10 years."

The participating companies include IBM, IonQ, Rigetti Computing, Quantinuum, Oxford Ionics, Xanadu, and others based in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, and Australia. They are developing qubits using different approaches, such as neutral atoms, silicon spin, and superconducting architectures.

Successful participants in Stage A will advance to Stage B, a yearlong evaluation of their research and development plans, followed by Stage C, where DARPA’s independent verification and validation (IV&V) team will rigorously test hardware components and subsystems. Unlike a competition, QBI is intended to survey commercial quantum computing efforts and identify viable paths toward practical quantum computers.

DARPA also announced that Microsoft and PsiQuantum have entered the final phase of its separate Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program, which was expanded into QBI. These firms are undergoing similar verification and validation assessments.

"We've built and are expanding our world-class IV&V team of U.S. quantum experts, leveraging federal and state test facilities to separate hype from reality in quantum computing," Altepeter said.