DARPA Advances 11 Quantum Firms to Stage B of 2033 Benchmark
United States – October 24, 2026 -- DARPA has advanced 11 quantum computing companies to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), giving each team one year to show that a useful, fault-tolerant quantum computer can be built by 2033.
Launched in 2024, the QBI is designed to test whether any quantum approach can reach utility-scale performance on an economically sensible timeline. It is not a winner-takes-all contest. Several teams can succeed in parallel, or none at all.
Stage B follows a six-month feasibility screen of nearly 20 companies
Stage A selected nearly 20 companies to propose fault-tolerant architectures that could realistically be built within a decade and deliver net value. Over six months, DARPA worked with each team to test the feasibility of its concept. The 11 Stage B companies now come with funding and tighter scrutiny. The source does not disclose the funding amounts.