About
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the research arm of the US Department of Defense, founded in 1958 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Through its Microsystems Technology Office and Defense Sciences Office, DARPA runs the most significant US government quantum-research portfolio. That portfolio includes the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), launched in 2024, which in November 2025 selected 11 companies for Stage B utility-scale quantum-computer feasibility studies. Other DARPA quantum programmes include US2QC (Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing), ONISQ (Optimization with Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum), and LUMOS (Lasers for Universal Microscale Optical Systems). DARPA-funded teams include PsiQuantum, Atom Computing, Quantinuum, IonQ, Quantum Circuits Inc, Silicon Quantum Computing, and many others. Update 2026-06-17: Quandela is advancing with DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, Stage A, detailing a concept for a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quandela-darpas-quantum-benchmarking-initiative/ Update 2026-06-15: DARPA is backing Quantum Motion's new facility in Maryland, which will join IQM and Microsoft. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quantum-motion-maryland-facility-darpa/ Update 2026-04-16: DARPA selected Microsoft Azure Quantum to continue developing a utility-scale quantum computer. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/darpa-microsofts-quantum-development-utility-scale-quantum-computer/ Update 2025-11-07: IonQ has advanced to Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/ionq-quantum-benchmarking/ Update 2025-10-03: DARPA selected PsiQuantum to advance its photonic quantum computer toward practical applications. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/darpa-selects-psiquantum-to-advance-to-final-phase-of-quantum-computing-program/
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