Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010)
Last August, driven by Trump, the U.S. government completed the conversion of funds through the CHIPS Act, directly purchasing nearly 10% of Intel's newly issued original shares (approximately 433.3 million shares) at $20.47 per share. At that time, the value was less than $9 billion; by early May less than a year later, as Intel's stock price hit a record high, the total value of those shares had reached $54.1 billion, increasing by over $45 billion in just seven months.
Mentioning this, Trump could not hide his pride and posted: "I made the United States $45 billion in the past 8 months."
As a capital maestro who "manipulates the U.S. stock market by posting at a whim," Trump exerts an extraordinary influence on the rise and fall of U.S. stocks. Recently, he has started his performance again—providing a total of $2 billion in funding to 9 quantum computing companies through the U.S. Department of Commerce in exchange for equity. Odaily Planet Daily will provide a brief analysis in this article.
U.S. Government Acts Again, Investing $2 Billion in Quantum Computing Sector
On May 21, the Trump administration announced it would provide a total of $2 billion in funding to 9 quantum computing companies through the U.S. Department of Commerce, in exchange for partial equity. The specific allocation of funds is as follows:
- $1 billion will be awarded to IBM (IBM) for the operation and development of its independent subsidiary, Anderon;
- $375 million is allocated to chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries (GFS);
- Listed companies such as D-Wave (QBTS), Infleqtion (INFQ), and Rigetti (RGTI) each receive $100 million;
- Private companies such as Atom Computing, PsiQuantum, and Quantinuum (Honeywell-HON's independent subsidiary) each receive $100 million;
- Startup Diraq is expected to receive $38 million.
According to official documents, this is part of the Trump administration's "active investor" industrial policy, with funding sourced from R&D appropriations under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. The Department of Commerce emphasized that this is a "portfolio" strategy, covering two quantum wafer foundries and 7 quantum computing companies, targeting various quantum modalities such as neutral atoms, silicon spin, superconductors, photons, and trapped ions, addressing critical engineering bottlenecks like device reproducibility, error rates, optical complexity, and cryogenic system integration.
On the day the news was released, the U.S. stock quantum computing sector surged at the market open. Among them, D-Wave Quantum rose 16%, Rigetti Computing rose 14%, Infleqtion stock rose 25%, Quantum Computing rose 9%, and IonQ rose 3.1%.
It is worth mentioning that among these companies receiving funds, only GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS) revealed the equity exchange ratio is approximately 1%. For other companies, whether public or private, the equity is a minority, non-controlling stake, with specific ratios not yet disclosed. Final ratios will be disclosed after formal agreements are signed and filed with the SEC.
Capital Operations Under the "America First" Strategy
Examining this "investment-for-equity" operation, it remains an action under the Trump administration's "America First" strategy.
Previously, U.S. government investments in Intel (INTC), MP Materials (MP) (the only fully integrated U.S. rare earth producer), Trilogy Metals (TMQ), Lithium Americas (LAC), U.S. Steel, and others were also strategic moves to maintain the dominant position of the domestic semiconductor industry chain.
Especially the nearly $9 billion investment in Intel, the Trump administration explicitly stated that this move was to support domestic advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and reduce dependence on TSMC (TSM). Therefore, the U.S. government's related holdings are passive, with no board seats, and it does not participate in the company's daily operations and management, largely following board votes on most matters.
However, the U.S. government's "equity investments" include not only financial support but also credit endorsement and multi-layered policy support (such as export licenses, tariff protection). Previously, after receiving U.S. government funding, Intel received strong support from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lootnick, who met with Apple CEO Cook, Tesla CEO Musk, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang multiple times over the past year, persuading them to cooperate with Intel successively. With Apple joining, Intel has now established relevant collaborations with all three companies mentioned.
Operational Shift Under the CHIPS and Science Act: From Grants to Equity Exchange
The $2 billion behind the investment in quantum computing companies stems from the CHIPS and Science Act, a landmark bipartisan bill introduced by the U.S. government in 2022, officially titled the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022." The bill authorizes approximately $280 billion over 10 years to support semiconductor industry development and basic science and technology R&D. Its primary purpose is to revitalize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, strengthen scientific research and innovation capabilities, and address competition from other nations in high-tech fields through massive investment.
However, unlike the fund grants or pure subsidy model during the Biden administration, the Trump administration's operational model is the aforementioned "active investor" model—switching to providing funding in exchange for minority, non-controlling equity. As of this May, the Act has attracted over $645 billion in private investment in semiconductor manufacturing, with over 140 projects, creating 525,000 new jobs.
It must be said that aside from personally manipulating and hyping stocks like Dell (DELL), Micron (MU), and Palantir (PLTR), Trump is also promoting U.S. stock market prosperity in the name of the U.S. government and its departments. No wonder he has repeatedly boasted, "The new highs in the stock market are mainly because of me."
Additionally, it is noteworthy that a previous investment announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce stated, "The CHIPS Research and Development Office continues to solicit proposals from eligible applicants for research, prototyping, and commercial solutions in microelectronics technologies in the United States. Eligible applicants should submit applications via Announcement 2025-NIST-CHIPS-CRDO-01 on the www.grants.gov website." In other words, the U.S. government's "investment door" remains open. More information and funding announcements can be found in official sources.
Of course, the U.S. government invests in a wide range of company sectors, also involving critical minerals/rare earths, lithium batteries and other new energy sources, medical supplies, communication infrastructure, etc., such as Westinghouse Electric, Lithium Americas, Trilogy Metals, USA Rare Earth, Vulcan Elements, XLight, L3Harris Technologies, and others.
Furthermore, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lootnick once revealed to the media that the current U.S. administration might take stakes in major defense contractors like Lockheed Martin (LMT).
In summary, the aforementioned numerous listed companies, key minerals/rare earths/battery material supply chains, nuclear energy/small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear fuel, and other quantum computing targets may become directions for the Trump administration's continued investment in the second half of the year.
