IBM is breaking into the quantum computing foundry business.

The US government has taken $2 billion worth of equity stakes in quantum computing companies, including one linked to the Trump family.

IBM will receive half the award, while companies such as D-Wave and Rigetti will also get a piece. In return, the government will take equity stakes.

The U.S. will invest $2 billion in grant funding in return for equity stakes in nine quantum computing companies, the Wall Street Journal first reported citing the Commerce Department, including a $1 billion grant for IBM as the Trump administration’s push to take equity stakes in tech and industrial manufacturers continues.

Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) announced a Letter of Intent (LOI) to build an American quantum chip foundry, securing the nation's global quantum leadership and fueling the country's growing quantum ecosystem.

This article is part of a package on the future of quantum computing. Read about the most promising applications of these machines here and see an illustrated field guide to qubits here. Inside a low-slung building in an office park near the southeastern edge of the San Francisco Bay,