A monthly newsletter providing recent developments in the quantum computing industry.
Overview
In this edition of Quantum Waves, we cover late-June to mid-July 2026 developments reflecting a sharp acceleration in federal quantum policy, intensifying capital markets activity, and mounting urgency around post-quantum security preparedness.
- Federal quantum policy accelerated sharply, with the Trump administration issuing two executive orders targeting a functional quantum computer by 2028 and a swift transition to post-quantum cryptography, alongside new funding and coordination efforts from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Security Agency, and U.S. Army.
- Capital markets activity intensified as companies including Team Oratomic, IQM, Quantinuum, SuperQ Quantum, and Quantum Computing Inc. advanced financings, an IPO debut, and acquisitions, even as IBM’s disappointing quarterly earnings triggered a broader software-sector selloff that spotlighted the company’s parallel multibillion-dollar quantum computing investment.
- Global competition and supply-chain themes deepened,spanning U.S.-China rivalry over quantum and advanced-computing leadership, new government grants across U.S. states and international partners, and growing warnings about quantum computing’s looming threat to cryptography and digital assets.
These developments underscore an industry in which government policy, private capital, and cybersecurity preparedness continue to shape the next era of quantum technology.
Updates
Federal Policies & Activities
President Trump Signs Two Executive Orders to Accelerate Quantum Computing and the Post-Quantum Cryptography Transition
On June 22, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders directing federal agencies to work with the private sector and academia to build a functional, scientifically useful quantum computer by 2028, while separately requiring federal systems to transition to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 or 2031. The orders task the Department of Energy with helping construct a working quantum computer and direct the Department of Commerce to prepare plans for expanding federal investment in quantum computing companies.
Source: Trump signs orders calling for powerful quantum computer, targeting 2028 (Reuters)
Department of Energy Launches Initiative to Build the World’s First Scientifically Useful Quantum Computer
The Department of Energy announced an initiative to create and deploy what it described as the world’s first scientifically useful quantum computing capability, framing the effort as central to maintaining U.S. leadership in the “quantum age.” The initiative focuses on providing U.S. scientists and engineers with access to advanced quantum computing systems and identifying quantum scientific applications in chemistry, materials science, plasma physics, and high-energy physics. The initiative follows the president’s executive orders directing the agency to help build a working quantum computer to accelerate scientific research beyond the reach of traditional computing methods.
Department of Energy Expands Stable Isotope Production at Oak Ridge to Support Quantum Supply Chain
The Department of Energy is expanding stable isotope production capabilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including enrichment runs that concurrently support both cancer-therapy precursor materials and quantum computing applications. Officials noted that the same enrichment process used for medical isotopes can be adapted to harvest materials relevant to next-generation quantum and semiconductor technologies.
Office of Management and Budget Sets Four-Month Deadline for Agency Quantum-Readiness Migration Plans
Following the president’s executive orders, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum requiring federal agencies to finalize post-quantum migration plans within four months. The directive is intended to ensure agencies inventory vulnerable cryptographic systems and prepare for the eventual arrival of fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of breaking current encryption.
Source: Agencies have four months to finalize quantum-ready migration plans (FedScoop)
National Security Agency and Army Research Office Launch QuantumEAGLe Initiative
The National Security Agency and the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Office announced the launch of the Quantum Ecosystem Advancement, Growth and Leadership (QuantumEAGLe) initiative. The program is designed to accelerate the domestic quantum computing ecosystem and strengthen the nation’s leadership in quantum technology in support of the president’s quantum agenda.
Source: NSA, DEVCOM Army Research Office Launch QuantumEAGLe Initiative (National Security Agency)
Cross-Border and Supply Chain Risks
China Reclaims Supercomputing Crown as LineShine System Hits 2.198 Exaflops
China’s LineShine supercomputer, built at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen using semi-custom processors, reclaimed the top position in global supercomputing rankings for the first time since 2017 by achieving a performance of 2.198 exaflops on the High Performance LINPACK benchmark. The milestone underscores U.S.-China competition across advanced computing capabilities that increasingly intersect with quantum computing development.
Source: China Reclaims Supercomputing Crown as LineShine Hits 2.198 Exaflops in Shenzhen (CSR Journal)
Beijing Weighs Restricting Overseas Access to Leading Chinese Artificial Intelligence Models
Chinese authorities are reportedly considering new restrictions on overseas access to the country’s leading AI models, including Z.ai, treating the technology as a strategic asset requiring the same safeguards applied to semiconductors, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. The potential measures highlight growing concern in Beijing over the export of technologies viewed as central to its geopolitical position.
Archer Materials Advances Sovereign Quantum Computing Supply Chain Through IonQ Agreement
Australian materials company Archer Materials completed a $7 million placement and launched a $3 million share purchase plan offer following its strategic agreement with global quantum computing leader IonQ to establish sovereign quantum computing capability in Australia. The financing supports Archer’s efforts to secure domestic supply chains for materials critical to quantum hardware manufacturing.
Government Grants & Other Initiatives
New Mexico Awards $1.2 Million to Grow State’s Quantum Technology Sector
New Mexico’s Economic Development Department awarded $1.2 million to six companies through the New Mexico Quantum Technologies Award, a competitive grant program supporting early-stage quantum and quantum-enabling technology companies. The program reflects the state’s ongoing effort to build a regional quantum technology cluster.
Illinois Quantum Startup Photon Queue Wins $500,000 Grant to Relocate to Albuquerque
Roadrunner Venture Studios, an Albuquerque-based investment firm, awarded $500,000 in grant funding to Photon Queue, an Illinois-based quantum computing startup building high-efficiency quantum storage technology, to help the company locate and hire staff in New Mexico. The grant is part of a broader state effort to attract quantum companies to Albuquerque.
Source: State, Roadrunner lure Illinois quantum startup to Albuquerque (Albuquerque Journal)
Tennessee Commits $3 Million to Support NSF X-Labs Quantum Teams
Tennessee is investing $3 million to support the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) X-Labs Quantum Teams program, aiming to establish world-class research and testing infrastructure to help commercialize breakthrough quantum technologies in the state. The investment builds on Tennessee’s existing quantum and advanced-energy research partnerships, including with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
D-Wave Selected for NSF-Funded ERASE Project on Scalable Quantum Computing
D-Wave Quantum announced it will receive a $1.5 million grant through a National Science Foundation project and will provide its dual-rail gate-model quantum computing technology to Yale University’s Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits (ERASE) project, which is focused on foundational technologies for fault-tolerant quantum computing. D-Wave was separately named the primary industrial implementation partner for the initiative.
Source: D-Wave Selected for NSF-Funded ERASE Project on Scalable Quantum Computing (HPC Wire)
Talent & Funding Competition
Khosla Ventures Makes Record Quantum Investment in Team Oratomic’s $300 Million Series A
Khosla Ventures, led by Vinod Khosla, made its largest initial investment in the quantum computing sector to date by backing Team Oratomic’s $300 million Series A round. The firm selected Oratomic after evaluating the company’s approach to advancing toward a working implementation of Shor’s algorithm, a benchmark often associated with achieving practical quantum computing.
Source: Vinod Khosla: Khosla Ventures makes record quantum investment in Team Oratomic (Traders Union)
IQM Quantum Computers Begins Trading on Nasdaq, a First for European Quantum Firms
IQM Quantum Computers began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker IQMX on July 2, 2026, following its business combination with Real Asset Acquisition Corp., marking the first European quantum computing company to list on a major U.S. exchange. The debut is viewed as a cautious but symbolically significant milestone for the European quantum computing industry.
SuperQ Quantum Closes Oversubscribed Financing for Approximately C$4.6 Million
SuperQ Quantum Computing announced the closing of its oversubscribed brokered financing for gross proceeds of approximately C$4,600,713, adding to the wave of capital-raising activity among smaller quantum computing companies. The financing reflects continued investor appetite for quantum hardware developers even amid broader technology-sector volatility.
International Activities & Cooperation Efforts
Pasqal and MegazoneCloud Partner to Bring Industrial-Scale Quantum Computing to South Korea
Pasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, and MegazoneCloud, South Korea’s leading cloud and AI transformation company, signed a memorandum of understanding to explore bringing industrial-scale neutral-atom quantum computing services to South Korean enterprises. The partnership reflects growing international efforts to expand access to quantum computing infrastructure outside traditional hubs.
Source: Pasqal and MegazoneCloud Partner to Bring Industrial-Scale Quantum Computing to South Korea (Pasqal)
Rice University and the Max Planck Society Establish Quantum Materials Partnership
Rice University and the Max Planck Society launched the “Quantum Materials – Rice and Max Planck Partnership,” an initiative intended to advance global leadership in quantum materials research and technology. The partnership brings together two leading research institutions to pursue joint scientific collaboration in the quantum materials field.
University of Pretoria Joins South Africa’s Quantum Technology Initiative
The University of Pretoria was selected to host UP Quantum Science and Technology (UPQuST), one of six nationally funded research hubs under South Africa’s Quantum Technology Initiative. The designation expands South Africa’s quantum research capacity and reflects the country’s broader push to develop domestic quantum expertise.
Source: University of Pretoria Expands South Africa’s Quantum Research Capacity (Quantum Insider)
Aalto University’s Innovation Ecosystem Produces Its Fourth Unicorn, Quantum Computing Firm
Aalto University’s startup ecosystem in Finland has produced four unicorn companies to date, including IQM, a quantum computing company founded by Aalto researchers through Aalto Innovation Services. The milestone highlights Finland’s continued role as a hub for European quantum computing talent and commercialization.
Source: Aalto’s Blueprint For Building Founders, Startups & Centaurs – The Finnish Way (Poets & Quants)
Market Developments
Quantum Computing Inc. Completes $73.1 Million Acquisition of NHanced Semiconductors
Quantum Computing Inc. completed its acquisition of NHanced Semiconductors, an advanced semiconductor packaging and nanophotonics manufacturer, for $73.1 million in combined cash and equity, with up to an additional $72 million in potential earnout payments tied to performance targets. The deal is intended to accelerate the launch of the company’s second fabrication facility and strengthen its integrated photonics manufacturing capabilities.
Source: Quantum Computing Inc. Completes NHanced Semiconductors Acquisition (Quantum Insider)
Quantinuum’s Initial Public Offering Quiet Period Set to Expire
Quantinuum’s quiet period following its IPO was set to expire on July 14, 2026, after the trapped-ion quantum computing company issued twenty-eight million shares in its June IPO. Shares of the company, majority-owned by Honeywell, have traded actively as investor enthusiasm for pure-play quantum computing companies has continued to build.
Source: Quantinuum Inc.’s (NASDAQ:QNT) Quiet Period Set To End on July 14th (American Market News)
Quantinuum Shares Fall Nine Percent Despite New Rolls-Royce Partnership on Quantum Fluid Dynamics
Quantinuum announced a multi-year partnership with Rolls-Royce to explore quantum computing applications for turbine design and quantum fluid dynamics, but the company’s shares fell nine percent as the market appeared unimpressed by the announcement. The partnership represents one of the sector’s more prominent industrial collaborations to date, pairing quantum hardware with aerospace engineering expertise.
Source: Quantinuum Partners with Rolls-Royce on Quantum Fluid Dynamics; Shares Plunge 9% (BigGo Finance)
IBM Shares Slump Twenty-Six Percent as Second-Quarter Results Disappoint, Even as Quantum Investment Continues
IBM shares fell as much as twenty-six percent, one of the company’s steepest one-day declines in decades, after preliminary second-quarter results showed infrastructure revenue softness as enterprise budgets shifted toward AI hardware. Despite the selloff, IBM reiterated its plan to invest more than $10 billion in quantum computing over five years and stated it remains on track to deliver a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029.
Source: IBM Shares Bleed 26% As IT Major Disappoints Street With Earnings Scorecard (NDTV Profit)
IQM Achieves Milestone in Quantum Error Correction Using Directional Tile Codes
IQM Quantum Computers announced a significant achievement in quantum error correction using a new family of directional tile codes that reduce qubit overhead by up to one thousand times compared to today’s leading approach, without requiring new hardware. The company said the breakthrough marks a major step toward practical, large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing.
D-Wave Named One of Two Leaders in IDC MarketScape Quantum Computing Vendor Assessment
D-Wave Quantum was named one of only two companies, along with IBM, in the Leaders category of the International Data Corporation MarketScape: Worldwide Quantum Computing 2026 Vendor Assessment. IDC highlighted D-Wave’s status as the only dual-platform quantum computing company offering both annealing and gate-model systems, software, and services, alongside its plans for a multichip, 100,000-qubit Advantage3 system.
QuiX Quantum Unveils Dedalo, a Universal Photonic Quantum Computing Architecture
QuiX Quantum released Dedalo, a photonic quantum computing architecture designed to support universal, fault-tolerant systems built on logical qubits. The platform is intended to operate alongside QuiX’s Carina hardware, which was separately delivered to Germany’s DLR Quantum Computing Initiative for data-center-oriented photonic quantum computing deployment.
Source: QuiX Quantum Unveils Path to Universal Photonic Quantum Computing with Logical Qubits (QuiX Quantum)
Risk Guidance
Galaxy Digital Warns $470 Billion of Bitcoin is at Risk from Advancing Quantum Computing
Galaxy Digital estimated that roughly $470 billion worth of Bitcoin currently sits vulnerable to advancing quantum computing capabilities, because a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could work backward from a wallet’s public key to derive its private key. The warning adds to a growing body of industry analysis urging cryptocurrency holders and platforms to prepare for eventual quantum-enabled attacks on current cryptographic schemes.
Source: $470B of Bitcoin at risk from advancing quantum computing (Crypto Briefing)
StarkWare Unveils Three-Phase Quantum-Resistance Roadmap for Starknet
StarkWare, the developer of the zero-knowledge proof-based blockchain Starknet, unveiled a three-phase roadmap to counter quantum computing threats while criticizing the broader crypto industry’s slow response to the issue. The company argued that tested cryptographic techniques already exist to secure crypto keys against quantum attacks if the necessary changes are implemented industry-wide.
Cyber Insurers Urged to Prepare for Quantum Computing Threats
Industry analysts warned that cyber insurers should begin preparing now for the eventual arrival of quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography, even though the technology may remain roughly a decade away from posing an imminent threat. With sufficient preparation, insurers may be able to avoid claims tied to quantum-enabled cryptographic attacks.
Source: Cyber insurers urged to prepare for quantum computing threats (Insurance Day)
Legislative Developments
Lawler and Gottheimer Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand EXIM Support for U.S. Quantum Leadership
Representatives Mike Lawler and Josh Gottheimer introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding Export-Import Bank (EXIM) support for U.S. quantum computing companies seeking to compete internationally. The proposed legislation does so by expanding EXIM’s authority to the full quantum ecosystem, including quantum computing, sensing, and communications. The bill reflects growing congressional interest in pairing federal financing tools with the Trump administration’s broader quantum computing agenda.