Trump administration in talks to take equity stakes in quantum computing firms including Rigetti, IonQ, and D-Wave
Oct 23, 2025
Key Points
- The Trump administration is negotiating to take equity stakes in quantum computing firms Rigetti, IonQ, and D-Wave as part of government funding deals.
- Venture investors including Lux Capital's Josh Wolfe call the move wasteful, arguing quantum remains a speculative moonshot with no proven commercial applications.
- The proposal collides with the reality that Microsoft, Google, and private VCs already fund quantum research heavily, leaving no obvious market failure for government equity to solve.
Summary
The Trump administration is in talks to take equity stakes in quantum computing firms Rigetti Computing, IonQ, and D-Wave Quantum as part of government funding agreements.
Lux Capital co-founder Josh Wolfe opposes the move, calling it "beyond stupid, absolute waste of taxpayer money" and dismissing quantum as "utterly irrelevant fraudulent BS." The three companies have been selling off aggressively ahead of the news.
One theory circulating is that the story was planted by someone in the administration to provide exit liquidity for expiring call options. The timing and likely backlash from taxpayers and investors make this plausible.
Venture capital and hyperscalers like Google and Microsoft are already heavily invested in quantum research. Microsoft and Google structure their quantum efforts as long-term science projects with no near-term commercial claims. There is no obvious market failure that government equity stakes would address. The administration's proposal to invest directly in early-stage quantum startups sits uneasily with both fiscal conservatism and the abundance of private capital already in the space.
Quantum has narrow use cases for specific algorithms and no proven broad business applications. That makes it a legitimate long-shot bet for venture investors willing to stomach the risk, distinct from outright deception. Theranos crossed a different line by putting non-functional devices into clinical use across the country.
Private markets are in bubble territory while public markets remain rational, according to HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan. Trade wars, tariffs, a weak labor market, geopolitical conflict, and higher rates are restraining enthusiasm that might otherwise be more extreme. Without those headwinds, venture excess could be significantly worse.