MilestonePolicy & securityConfirmed
DARPA advances 11 companies to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative
Nov 6, 2025
DARPA selected 11 companies, including IBM, IonQ, Quantinuum, QuEra, Atom Computing and Xanadu, for the yearlong second stage of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The program tests whether any approach can deliver, by 2033, a quantum computer whose computing value exceeds its cost.
Why it matters
The program is an independent government check on whether company roadmaps to useful quantum computers are realistic, meant to separate hype from reality.
DARPA · Atom Computing · Diraq · IBM · IonQ · Nord Quantique · Photonic · Quantinuum · Quantum Motion · QuEra · SQC · Xanadu
Sources (2)
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DARPA
Stage B selection
“As of Nov. 6, 2025, DARPA has selected 11 companies to enter the second stage (Stage B) of the agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), which aims to rigorously verify and validate whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation — meaning its computational value exceeds its cost — by the year 2033.”
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The Quantum Insider
DARPA Advances Quantum Computing Initiative
“DARPA has advanced 11 companies to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, moving the program from conceptual proposals to technical validation of utility-scale quantum computing architectures.”
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