A US Commerce Department official has told Reuters that the department is "not currently negotiating with any of the [quantum computing] companies"

A Commerce Department official told CNBC that the U.S. government is not currently negotiating equity stakes in quantum-computing firms in exchange for federal funding.

“The Commerce Department is not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum-computing companies,” the statement read.

That statement comes in contrast to reports that the Donald Trump administration was in talks with companies such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing and D‑Wave Quantum about taking ownership stakes. During the trading session, Rigetti’s shares rose about 7 %, IonQ’s rose 7 %, D-Wave’s jumped 13 %, and Quantum Computing Inc. gained around 5 %.

President Trump’s administration has taken equity stakes in other companies considered critical to U.S. national security — for example acquiring roughly a 10 % stake in Intel Corporation and around 15 % in MP Materials, which mines rare-earth elements.

Government-policy experts say that the growing interest in taking private-company stakes is unusual in recent decades. Officials, including Howard Lutnick, formerly of the Commerce Department, have argued that when federal money helps a business, the government should have a claim on the upside.

Quantum computing has drawn major attention: it is believed to have the capability one day to perform tasks impossible for classical computers — such as simulating new medicines or breaking modern encryption — though no commercially useful quantum computer yet exists. Even so, the government and private investors have poured billions into the sector, despite the fact that quantum firms generated under $750 million in revenue in 2024.