Government testers move six quantum approaches to hands-on hardware verification

DARPA QBI Stage C — Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM, IonQ (joining Microsoft, PsiQuantum) — On 7 Oct 2026 DARPA advanced Atom Computing (neutral atoms), Diraq (silicon spin qubits), IBM (modular superconducting) and IonQ (trapped ions) to Stage C, the final phase of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, joining Microsoft and PsiQuantum, which entered through the earlier US2QC programme. Stage C is direct physical testing and empirical validation of each company's hardware by government evaluators, to judge whether it can reach utility-scale operation by 2033. IonQ's agreement is worth up to $300M subject to appropriations; others did not disclose figures. Advancing is not a verdict that any of them will succeed; it is the first time one independent evaluator will test six competing approaches against the same yardstick on their own hardware.