Leading quantum computing company Quantinuum on September 8, 2026, announced it has finalized a contract with the CHIPS Research and Development Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce for $100 million in federal funding allocated through the CHIPS and Science Act.
The grant follows a letter of intent announcement in May 2026 and supports R&D and U.S. quantum semiconductor manufacturing capabilities required to implement large-scale, fault-tolerant trapped-ion quantum computers.
Quantinuum is the only CHIPS R&D-funded company that employs a trapped-ion-based architecture, building the most precise commercial computers in the world with industry-leading error mitigation quality. It is worth noting that the company uses well-developed quantum semiconductor manufacturing processes so as to help assure the dependability, consistency, and scalable nature of the present and future quantum computers coming from its stable.
According to the president and CEO of Quantinuum, Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, “This award is a validation of Quantinuum’s leadership in trapped-ion quantum computing. Together with our domestic partners, we are building the technology and supply-chain foundation needed to scale fault-tolerant systems and strengthen America’s leadership in this strategically important field.”
Apparently, the award will fund research and development, which the company expects will assist it to bolster and broaden its supply chain, incorporating onshore partners like GlobalFoundries as well as Monarch Quantum. GlobalFoundries will work with a number of Quantinuum’s foundries so as to build its next-generation ion traps and additional electronics, focusing on 300mm wafer technology, whereas Monarch Quantum plans to design and build scalable, dependable lasers and optical elements essential to Quantinuum’s trapped-ion systems.
As quantum computing scales up to commercial scale, manufacturing is going to be key to reaching its full potential, said the CEO of GlobalFoundries, Tim Breen.
He adds, “GlobalFoundries is proud to partner with Quantinuum to help scale their trapped-ion technology. By bringing our expertise in high-volume, differentiated semiconductor manufacturing, we’re helping create a path to more scalable, reliable quantum hardware and advancing the next generation of American innovation.”
As per Dr. Timothy Day, the CEO of Monarch Quantum, “The road to large-scale, trapped-ion quantum computers relies on moving away from complex, sprawling optical setups to scalable, reliable integrated photonics engines. We are honored to expand our partnership with Quantinuum to advance their hardware roadmap and to help strengthen U.S. leadership in quantum computing manufacturing and supply chain resilience.”
These efforts collectively seek to lower system-level complexity and increase the strength, accuracy, and repeatability of components, enabling perpetual scaling of trapped-ion quantum computers and boosting domestic capability when it comes to critical photonics as well as semiconductor manufacturing.