DOE Launches $215M Quantum Genesis Q Competition to Build Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers - ExecutiveGov

Photo: eaivey/Adobe StockThe Department of Energy has launched the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, offering up to $215 million to accelerate development of the world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computers.Table of ContentsThe Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research within the DOE’s Office of Science is sponsoring the competition. It is inviting private sector industry partners to deploy systems capable of executing hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations to solve complex scientific challenges, the department said Thursday.Join federal decision-makers and technology leaders at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 FedCiv Summit on October 29 in Arlington, Virginia, where DOE Chief Information Officer and 2026 Wash100 Award winner Dawn Zimmer will take the stage to unpack how the Energy Department is pushing the boundaries of computing power, AI adoption, and advanced compute infrastructure. Register today to secure a seat!The competition is organized into a two-phase structure designed to reward early progress and accelerate hardware benchmarks. Phase I will deliver fixed milestone awards worth up to $1.5 million per recipient, while Phase II establishes a $100 million general incentive pool for deployable systems featuring at least 100 logical qubits.To incentivize further scaling, Phase II also incorporates two separate $50 million bonus pools for awardees that can successfully demonstrate 150 and 200 logical qubits, respectively.Applications are open to private sector companies through a request for applications, or RFA. Proposals must outline plans to deploy quantum computers capable of performing hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations alongside scientific demonstration programs.The DOE will outline the requirements for the Quantum Genesis Q Competition during a virtual informational webinar on Sept. 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET, with final applications due Oct. 19.The multimillion-dollar effort directly aligns with the administration’s executive order on Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation while drawing on recommendations from the Blueprint for DOE Quantum Supercomputing.Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil emphasized that public-private partnerships will help “unleash new computational frontiers” and drive scientific breakthroughs that researchers previously only theorized.The department will kickstart the competition with $2.5 million in fiscal year 2026 funds, while future congressional appropriations will dictate out-year funding.To complement industry hardware development, the DOE is also issuing a parallel $45 million Quantum High-Performance Computing Validation and Verification Testbed Lab Call for its national laboratories.The initiative leverages government research expertise to establish testing protocols for every layer of the quantum computing stack. Participating labs will evaluate physical hardware, quantum gates, control systems, and logical architectures to validate system performance throughout the competition.Initial funding provides $14 million in fiscal year 2026 dollars to launch this lab call, establishing the foundational infrastructure required for an integrated national quantum supercomputing framework.PacStar announced on Thursday that the company’s chief executive officer Peggy Miller has won the Gold Stevie Award in the Executive of the Year – Business Products category...Ben FitzGerald Ben FitzGerald, director of the Defense Department's strategy and design office, has said DoD intends to adopt a “data-driven approach” as it works to reorganize the acquisition,...More than 50 federal agencies have received communications from top House Democrats requesting their compliance with record and document preservation requirements as the representatives prepare for the presidential...Paul Selva The Senate has approved the reappointment of U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul Selva for another two-year term as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense...Christina Yancey, chief evaluation officer for the Department of Labor, said that interagency efforts to leverage data for policymaking may run into some roadblocks due to data access...ExecutiveGov, published by Executive Mosaic, is a site dedicated to the news and headlines in the federal government. ExecutiveGov serves as a news source for the hot topics and issues facing federal government departments and agencies such as Gov 2.0, cybersecurity policy, health IT, green IT and national security. We also aim to spotlight various federal government employees and interview key government executives whose impact resonates beyond their agency. Copyright 2026 Executive Mosaic.

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