DARPA advances IBM, IonQ, Atom Computing, and Diraq to Stage C but says it is not choosing winners

Four more companies have reached Stage C of DARPA's Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, joining Microsoft and PsiQuantum. At this stage, DARPA evaluates whether the companies' proposed large-scale quantum computers can actually be built and operated as planned. Stage B lasted one year, and DARPA has evaluated more than 20 companies so far. It expects to move more companies into Stage C soon. IBM says it expects its first fault-tolerant system in 2029. DARPA has not disclosed funding amounts.

Three of our seven core companies, IBM, IonQ, and PsiQuantum, are now in Stage C. D-Wave, Quantinuum, Rigetti, and Infleqtion were not named in this announcement.

IonQ's CEO described Stage C as "a significant vote of confidence" in the same release announcing its $2.0B stock offering. But DARPA says Stage C is where companies begin proving that their plans can work. It also says QBI is not a competition between companies. Reaching Stage C is progress, not proof of success.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (2026, October 7). Four more teams enter Quantum Benchmarking Initiative's final stage. https://www.darpa.mil/news/2026/four-more-teams-enter-quantum-benchmarking-initiative-final-stage