Commerce turns quantum CHIPS letters into contracts, led by IBM's Anderon
· TexaHub · Quantum, Semiconductors, Geopolitics & Tech
In ten days the CHIPS R&D Office finalised quantum awards to Quantinuum, GlobalFoundries, Rigetti and IBM's new Anderon foundry, the largest at up to $1 billion.
From intent to award
On 16 September the US Department of Commerce said it had signed a final R&D award of up to $1 billion to Anderon, a newly formed IBM subsidiary, under the CHIPS and Science Act, to accelerate its plans for a quantum semiconductor foundry [1]. IBM's own release describes the award as $1 billion, matched by an additional $1 billion investment from IBM [2].
The award is the largest of a series finalised in quick succession. In May, Commerce signed nine letters of intent proposing $2.013 billion in CHIPS incentives for seven quantum computing companies and two foundry vendors [3]. Quantinuum finalised a $100 million award on 8 September [4], GlobalFoundries finalised $375 million over five years for its Quantum Technology Solutions division in the same week [5], and Rigetti converted its letter into a $100 million contract on 14 September [6].
What Anderon is
Anderon, headquartered in Albany, New York, operates a 300-millimetre wafer fab positioned as a pure-play quantum foundry serving customers across the industry [2]. It offers wafers for superconducting qubit arrays, quantum input/output signalling and readout signal-chain components, and plans to expand to other qubit modalities [2]. IBM says the first quantum wafers are now running through the facility [2]. Mukesh Khare, previously general manager of IBM Semiconductors, has been named chief executive, and Jason Orcutt chief technology officer [3].
"IBM's quantum roadmap requires a manufacturing foundation that can scale at the pace our work demands," said Jay Gambetta, director of IBM Research [2]. The Times Union reported that IBM aims to have a fault-tolerant large-scale quantum computer ready to manufacture by 2029 and plans to spend $10 billion over five years toward that goal [5].
Terms and open questions
The awards carry equity conditions. GlobalFoundries gave the government a stake of nearly 10 million shares as part of its grant terms [5], and Commerce will take "a minority, non-controlling equity stake in Rigetti" [6].
The awards fund different bottlenecks. Quantinuum's covers manufacturing for trapped-ion systems, with GlobalFoundries fabricating ion traps and control electronics on 300mm wafers [4]; Rigetti's targets readout electronics, cryostat architecture and in-house chiplet fabrication [6]. Two of the four finalised awards go to foundry capacity rather than to computer makers, suggesting Washington sees shared manufacturing as a constraint on the sector. Whether quantum companies beyond IBM actually use Anderon, which also supplies IBM's own roadmap, will show whether "pure-play" proves meaningful. Commerce has framed the Anderon award as strengthening "the domestic semiconductor supply chain and national security" [1].
Sources
[1] Department of Commerce Announces Finalization of CHIPS R&D Award with Anderon — NIST, 16 Sep 2026
[2] Anderon, an IBM Company, Finalizes Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for a $1 Billion CHIPS Award to Accelerate R&D for U.S.-Based Pure-Play Quantum Foundry — IBM Newsroom, 16 Sep 2026
[3] IBM's Quantum Foundry Unit Receives $1B In CHIPS Funding — Semiecosystem, 16 Sep 2026
[4] Quantinuum Finalizes $100 Million CHIPS R&D Award with U.S. Department of Commerce to Advance Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer Manufacturing in the US — Quantinuum via PR Newswire, 8 Sep 2026
[5] Commerce finalizes $375 million grant to GlobalFoundries for quantum chip business — Times Union, 10 Sep 2026
[6] Rigetti Computing Finalizes Definitive $100 Million CHIPS Act Award with U.S. Department of Commerce — Quantum Computing Report, 14 Sep 2026