Could This $375M Investment Be The Pinocchio Moment For Quantum Computing?

InnovationConsumer TechCould This $375M Investment Be The Pinocchio Moment For Quantum Computing?ByJohn Koetsier,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.Follow AuthorJun 10, 2026, 04:56pm EDTA massive new US government investment in quantum computing might just signal a major turning point in quantum. But not because of the money ...dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesIt just might be the Pinocchio moment in quantum computing: an occasion marking the moment the entire space grew up and, instead of becoming a real boy, became a real industry. GlobalFoundries’ new Quantum Technology Solutions business has launched a dedicated quantum manufacturing arm, backed by a $375 million CHIPS R&D grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The goal: build a company that supplies the entire quantum computing ecosystem with quantum processors.That’s significant.For most of its existence, quantum computing has been less an industry than a collection of science projects with gobs of venture funding. Every company built everything itself: the qubits, the control electronics, the packaging, the cryogenic plumbing. Each machine was pretty much a bespoke one-off, hand-assembled by high-end engineers with custom everything. That’s roughly where classical computing was five decades ago, and while that model can produce incredible tech, impressive demos and maybe even world-changing quantum computers, it’s not really a factory. It’s not really something that can take quantum computing from the lab to everywhere anyone wants a quantum computer.The new GlobalFoundries business is launching with customers across nearly every competing approach to building a quantum computer: PsiQuantum (photonics), Quantinuum (trapped ions), Diraq and Quantum Motion (silicon spin qubits) and Equal1, with public support from Google Quantum AI, Microsoft and Nvidia.That means this isn’t just a fab for a single technolo...