- DARPA has advanced four more companies to QBI Stage C
- Stage C to test utility-scale quantum system designs
- The 2027 Defense R&D Summit will cover quantum computing, AI and more
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected four more companies to advance to Stage C, the last phase of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
Quantum computing, trusted AI and autonomy, and advanced space technologies are among the topics at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2027 Defense R&D Summit on Feb. 4. Register now to hear from Department of War and national security technology officials on where defense research and development investments are headed.
Which Companies Advanced to Stage C?
DARPA said Wednesday it selected the following companies, each pursuing a different qubit technology:
- Atom Computing: scalable arrays of neutral atoms
- Diraq: silicon CMOS spin qubits
- IBM: quantum computing with modular superconducting processors
- IonQ: trapped-ion quantum computing
IonQ said it signed a Stage C agreement with DARPA worth up to $300 million. According to the company, funding beyond the initial obligation depends on future appropriations and DARPA funding actions. Under the agreement, which runs through 2029, DARPA’s team will test several generations of IonQ’s Superion quantum systems against the company’s technical road map.
“Advancing to Stage C is a significant vote of confidence in IonQ’s technology roadmap and architecture for delivering quantum computing at utility scale,” said Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of IonQ.
IBM plans to deliver its first fault-tolerant quantum computer, IBM Quantum Starling, in 2029. In Stage C, DARPA’s independent verification and validation team will test the company’s hardware.
“Advancing to the third stage of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative validates the strength of IBM’s path to building a fault-tolerant quantum computer,” noted Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research and an IBM fellow.
The four companies joined Microsoft and PsiQuantum, which entered Stage C after taking part in Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing, a pilot program that preceded QBI.
What Is QBI?
QBI is a DARPA effort to determine whether any quantum computing approach could reach utility-scale operation by 2033. The agency defines utility scale as the point at which a system’s computational value outweighs its cost.
The initiative does not pit companies against one another or pick winners. Instead, it assesses the current state of commercial quantum computing and whether each approach offers a credible near-term route to utility scale.
Since QBI began in mid-2024, more than 20 companies have gone through its evaluation. In 2025, DARPA chose an initial group of 15 companies for Stage A, a six-month phase in which participants submitted detailed technical concepts for a fault-tolerant quantum computer.
Quandela became the newest Stage A participant in May. DARPA released a solicitation earlier this year seeking new Stage A entrants and expects to select more companies from the proposals it received.
During the yearlong Stage B, QBI reviewed each organization’s research and development plans, including technical risks, mitigation strategies and the prototypes needed to show progress.
“Stage B is about putting the performers’ plans under a microscope: understanding the assumptions, identifying the risks, and determining whether the proposed development paths could plausibly get all the way to utility scale,” said Micah Stoutimore, managing director of QBI at DARPA.
“The quantum computing field is moving quickly, and we increasingly expect that someone will build a utility-scale quantum computer by 2033,” Stoutimore added. “What we don’t yet know is which team or teams, or which technical approach or approaches, will get there. That is exactly why QBI is evaluating each path on its own merits and continuing to bring promising new approaches into the initiative.”
What Happens in Stage C?
In Stage C, the QBI government evaluation team will work with the selected companies to verify whether their proposed utility-scale systems could be built according to their designs and function as planned.
“Stage C is where we begin moving from plans to proof. Our team will be closely scrutinizing the hardware and systems as they develop to determine whether the technology performs the way the models and roadmaps say it should,” Stoutimore stated.
DARPA expects to promote more companies to Stage C as performers in Stages A and B progress.
