UPDATE 1-Quantum computing firms jump after report of US government stake talks

(Adds details, updates prices to U.S. premarket trade) Oct 23 (Reuters) – Shares in U.S. quantum computing firms surged in premarket trading on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported President Donald Trump's administration is in talks to take equity stakes in exchange for federal funding. Shares of IONQ, Rigetti, D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing surged between 12% and 14% after the report said the companies are in talks about the U.S. government becoming a shareholder as part of the agreements. A U.S. Commerce Department official told Reuters in an email that the department is "not currently negotiating with any of the companies". The Defiance Quantum ETF, which tracks companies whose products or services are tied to the development of quantum computing and machine learning technology, added 2.6%, set to build on its 32% gain so far this year. The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to secure U.S. supply chains for critical minerals and semiconductors by converting federal grants to companies into equity stakes, aimed at reducing reliance on China. The administration has taken or discussed stakes in several companies including Lithium Americas, MP Materials and Intel as part of the shift to direct ownership from traditional subsidies. Quantum computers tap into quantum mechanics to solve problems that would take classical computers thousands of years or more. But existing quantum computers must dedicate so much of their computing power to fixing errors that they are not, on net, faster than classical computers. In February, Microsoft unveiled a new chip that it said showed quantum computing is "years, not decades" away, while IBM in June said it plans to have a practical quantum computer by 2029. (Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Medha Singh; Editing by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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