The U.S. Department of Energy launched the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, allocating up to $215 million to accelerate fault-tolerant quantum computer development.
On September 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, an initiative with up to $215 million in planned funding designed to demonstrate the world’s first fault-tolerant scientifically relevant quantum computers (SRQCs). Through a Request for Applications (RFA), the DOE is inviting private sector companies to submit proposals for deploying quantum systems featuring at least 100 logical qubits capable of executing hundreds of millions of fault-tolerant operations alongside scientific demonstration programs.
This inaugural competition aims to accelerate the development and deployment of quantum hardware capable of solving currently intractable problems in chemistry, materials science, physics, and applied mathematics. The initiative directly supports the objectives outlined in the President’s Executive Order on Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation, while building upon recommendations from the Blueprint for DOE Quantum Supercomputing and the Office of Science Advisory Committee’s recent report, A Path to an Integrated Quantum Future.
“Through the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, we are building a new era of computational power for the nation through innovative public-private partnerships,” said Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil. “This competition will enable new quantum computing capabilities and unleash new computational frontiers, driving new scientific and technological discoveries that have previously only been theorized.”
The competition operates in two phases. Phase I offers fixed milestone awards valued at up to $1.5 million per recipient. Phase II features a $100 million general incentive pool distributed among awardees who demonstrate a first-generation SRQC with at least 100 logical qubits. Additionally, two separate bonus incentive pools, each worth $50 million, will be awarded to teams that successfully demonstrate systems scaling to 150 and 200 logical qubits, respectively.
Total planned funding reaches up to $215 million, comprising $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2026 allocations, with subsequent years’ funding contingent upon congressional appropriations. A virtual informational webinar for prospective applicants will be held on September 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Final proposals must be submitted by October 19, 2026.
Deploying first-of-a-kind, scientifically relevant quantum computing requires rigorous validation tools to characterize and verify every layer of the computing stack—from physical hardware and quantum gates to logical architectures, algorithms, applications, and classical control systems. To address this need, the DOE has issued a parallel Quantum High-Performance Computing Validation and Verification Testbed Lab Call. Leveraging expertise across DOE national laboratories, this effort will establish essential characterization capabilities for the Q Competition and advance the executive order’s innovation goals. Applications are restricted to DOE National Laboratories, with total planned funding set at $45 million ($14 million in Fiscal Year 2026 dollars, subject to future congressional appropriations).
Both the RFA and the Lab Call are sponsored by the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research within the DOE Office of Science and are available on the department’s Funding Opportunities webpage. Source: U.S. Department of Energy. Originally published by HPCwire.