US government takes $2 billion equity stake in nine quantum computing firms
US government takes $2 billion equity stake in nine quantum computing firms
美国政府斥资 20 亿美元入股九家量子计算公司
The US government will take equity stakes worth a total of $2 billion in a slew of quantum computing companies, including a startup backed by a firm with links to the Trump family and one taken public by a Pentagon official. 美国政府将斥资总计 20 亿美元，入股多家量子计算公司。其中包括一家由与特朗普家族有关联的公司所支持的初创企业，以及一家由五角大楼官员推动上市的公司。
The announcement by the commerce department that it had signed letters of intent with nine companies—including GlobalFoundries and IBM—sent shares in quantum specialists soaring on Thursday. Both IBM, which is set to get $1 billion, and GlobalFoundries, which will receive $375 million, were up more than 6 percent in pre-market trading. D-Wave Quantum, an awardee that was taken public in 2022 by Emil Michael—now a top Pentagon official—was up more than 20 percent. 美国商务部宣布已与包括格芯（GlobalFoundries）和 IBM 在内的九家公司签署意向书，这一消息推动量子技术相关公司的股价在周四大幅上涨。IBM 预计将获得 10 亿美元，格芯将获得 3.75 亿美元，两家公司在盘前交易中均上涨超过 6%。D-Wave Quantum 也是受资方之一，该公司由现任五角大楼高官埃米尔·迈克尔（Emil Michael）于 2022 年推动上市，其股价涨幅超过 20%。
Among the recipients was also PsiQuantum, which last year raised money from a group of investors including 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm at which Donald Trump Jr is a partner. The company, which has sealed partnerships with Democratic and Republican administrations, is set to receive $100 million, by far its largest US government award to date. A person close to the company said 1789 was a passive minority investor with no involvement in PsiQuantum’s operations. A spokesperson for Trump Jr previously told the FT he had no involvement in negotiations with the government on behalf of 1789’s portfolio companies. 受资方还包括 PsiQuantum，该公司去年从包括 1789 Capital 在内的一组投资者那里筹集了资金，而小唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump Jr）正是该风险投资公司的合伙人。PsiQuantum 此前已与民主党和共和党政府达成过合作，此次预计将获得 1 亿美元资助，这是其迄今为止从美国政府获得的最大一笔奖金。一位接近该公司的人士表示，1789 Capital 只是被动的少数股权投资者，并未参与 PsiQuantum 的运营。小唐纳德·特朗普的一位发言人此前曾告诉《金融时报》，他从未代表 1789 Capital 的投资组合公司参与过与政府的谈判。
Other companies set to receive $100 million are Atom Computing, Infleqtion, Quantinuum, and Rigetti. Another startup, Diraq, will receive up to $38 million, the commerce department said. 其他预计将获得 1 亿美元资助的公司包括 Atom Computing、Infleqtion、Quantinuum 和 Rigetti。商务部表示，另一家初创公司 Diraq 将获得最高 3800 万美元的资助。
“With today’s CHIPS Research and Development investments in quantum computing, the Trump administration is leading the world into a new era of American innovation,” said US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. “These strategic quantum technology investments will build on our domestic industry, creating thousands of high-paying American jobs while advancing American quantum capabilities,” he added. 美国商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克（Howard Lutnick）表示：“通过今天在量子计算领域的‘芯片法案’研发投资，特朗普政府正引领世界进入美国创新的新时代。”他补充道：“这些战略性量子技术投资将夯实我们的国内产业基础，在提升美国量子能力的同时，创造数以千计的高薪就业岗位。”
The move is the latest in a series of attempts by the Trump administration to intervene in the market, offering grants to companies in strategic sectors, such as semiconductors and critical minerals, in exchange for equity stakes. Last year, the commerce department took a 10 percent stake in Intel, by converting $2.2 billion in grants under the Joe Biden-era Chips Act as well as $8.9 billion in federal grants that had been awarded but not yet paid. Since then, several companies have received smaller sums, including Vulcan Elements, a little-known rare earths startup with about 30 employees, in which Trump Jr’s venture capital firm has invested. 此举是特朗普政府一系列市场干预措施中的最新动作，即通过向半导体和关键矿产等战略行业的公司提供拨款，以换取股权。去年，商务部通过将乔·拜登时代的《芯片法案》下的 22 亿美元拨款以及 89 亿美元已获批但尚未支付的联邦拨款进行转换，获得了英特尔 10% 的股份。自那以后，多家公司获得了较小规模的资金，其中包括一家名为 Vulcan Elements 的名不见经传的稀土初创公司，该公司约有 30 名员工，小唐纳德·特朗普的风险投资公司曾对其进行过投资。
Notably absent from the list of companies that signed letters of intent with the commerce department on Thursday was IonQ, a leading quantum company that has attracted significant investment from Cerberus, a firm co-founded by Donald Trump’s deputy secretary of war, Stephen Feinberg. 值得注意的是，周四与商务部签署意向书的公司名单中，并未出现 IonQ 的身影。IonQ 是一家领先的量子计算公司，曾吸引了 Cerberus 的大量投资，而 Cerberus 正是由唐纳德·特朗普的国防部副部长斯蒂芬·范伯格（Stephen Feinberg）共同创立的。
The US quantum announcement comes as other countries such as the UK are increasing their investments in technology and other related fields. The ability of quantum computers to exploit the unusual properties of matter at the atomic and subatomic levels makes them theoretically capable of performing complex calculations much faster than existing machines. But significant engineering hurdles remain, such as in making the machines less prone to errors, while companies are still dueling over which technical approaches work best. 在美国发布量子计算公告之际，英国等其他国家也在增加对技术及相关领域的投资。量子计算机能够利用物质在原子和亚原子层面的特殊属性，这使其在理论上能够比现有机器快得多地执行复杂计算。但目前仍存在重大的工程障碍，例如如何降低机器的错误率，同时各公司仍在争论哪种技术路径最为有效。
The deals unveiled on Thursday are not final, and the administration said it was still soliciting proposals from other advanced tech firms. Intel is facing a shareholder lawsuit over its deal with the US government. 周四公布的协议并非最终版本，政府表示仍在征集其他先进技术公司的提案。英特尔目前正因其与美国政府的协议而面临股东诉讼。