Disclosed Defence Money for Quantum Computing Roughly Doubled to Tripled in 2026 on Two Announced DARPA Deals

Disclosed defence money for quantum computing roughly doubled to tripled in 2026 against the 2023 to 2025 average, and all of the rise is announced money from two DARPA agreements. Obligated money on the federal register fell. Part of the rise may be more disclosure rather than more money. Defence money in quantum computing is easy to overstate. Headlines quote caps of $300 million and deals worth billions, but the money actually promised to named firms is far smaller than either. Counting priced awards on the register or announced by firms, defence buyers put $80 million into the field in 2023, $38 million in 2024 and $67 million in 2025. Then 2026 changed the scale. By 11 October the disclosed total stood at $157 million or $188 million, depending on whether PsiQuantum’s new agreement includes its earlier one. All of the rise is announced money from two DARPA agreements, with PsiQuantum and Diraq, while obligated money on the register fell from $35 million in 2025 to $12 million so far. Two more DARPA agreements that year carry no stated value, IBM’s place in the final stage of its test and a programme on mixing qubit types. IonQ’s and Atom Computing’s…