美国国防高级研究计划局（DARPA）已将 Atom Computing、Diraq、IBM 和 IonQ 四家公司推进至其“量子基准测试计划”的最终阶段。该美国国防研究机构开展此项目，旨在测试是否有任何团队能够在 2033 年前构建出实用的量子计算机。
DARPA has moved Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM and IonQ into the final stage of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. The US defence research agency runs the programme to test whether anyone can build a useful quantum computer by 2033.
DARPA 于周三公布了这四支团队。每支团队采用的量子比特类型各不相同，而量子比特是量子计算机的基本单位。此前，在早期试点计划结束后，微软和 PsiQuantum 已先进入被称为“C 阶段”的最终阶段。
DARPA announced the four teams on Wednesday. Each one uses a different type of qubit, the basic unit of a quantum computer. Microsoft and PsiQuantum were already in the final stage, known as Stage C, after an earlier pilot programme.
该项目主管 Micah Stoutimore 表示：“C 阶段标志着我们从规划迈向实际验证。”
“Stage C is where we begin moving from plans to proof,” said Micah Stoutimore, the programme’s managing director.
在 C 阶段，一个政府团队将测试各公司的设计是否如计划般可被构建，并能按预期运行。DARPA 指出，该项目并非竞赛，也不会评选出赢家。只有当量子计算机的计算价值超过其成本时，它才会被视为实用。
In Stage C, a government team will test whether each company’s design can be built as planned and work as intended. DARPA says the programme is not a competition and does not pick winners. It counts a quantum computer as useful when its computing value exceeds its cost.
Stoutimore 表示：“我们越来越相信，到 2033 年，一定会有人成功构建出具备实用规模的量子计算机。”四支团队，四种方法根据 DARPA 的说法，这四支团队采取了不同的技术路线：位于科罗拉多州博尔德市的 Atom Computing 通过捕获中性原子阵列进行研发；悉尼的 Diraq 则在硅芯片上构建自旋量子比特；IBM 采用模块化超导电处理器，而 IonQ 则使用囚禁离子技术。
“We increasingly expect that someone will build a utility-scale quantum computer by 2033,” Stoutimore said. Four teams, four approaches The four teams take different routes, according to DARPA: Atom Computing, based in Boulder, Colorado, traps arrays of neutral atoms. Diraq, from Sydney, builds spin qubits on silicon chips. IBM uses modular superconducting processors, and IonQ uses trapped ions.
自该项目于 2024 年中期启动以来，DARPA 已评估了超过 20 家公司。法国的 Quandela 于 5 月加入了第一阶段。Atom Computing 的收获Atom Computing 在其官方公告中表示，该阶段可能为其提供高达 3 亿美元的资助。作为项目的一部分，微软还将为其提供算法支持和纠错码。
Since the programme began in mid-2024, DARPA has assessed more than 20 companies. France’s Quandela joined the first stage in May. What Atom Computing gets Atom Computing said in its own announcement that the stage carries potential funding of up to $300 million. As part of the programme, Microsoft will give it algorithm support and error correction codes.
Atom Computing 的首席执行官兼创始人 Ben Bloom 表示：“我们相信，实用规模的量子计算比许多人预期的更接近现实。”
“We believe utility-scale quantum computing is closer than many expect,” said Ben Bloom, Atom Computing’s chief executive and founder.
该公司表示，其已构建出拥有超过1200个量子比特的系统。2025年，公司向QuNorth出售了一台量子计算机，而QuNorth是由丹麦EIFO和诺和诺德基金会资助的一项北欧计划。此外，该公司还与美国商务部签署了一份价值1亿美元的意向书。
The company says it has built systems with more than 1,200 qubits. In 2025 it sold a quantum computer to QuNorth, a Nordic initiative funded by Denmark’s EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It has also signed a $100 million letter of intent with the US Department of Commerce.
5月，美国同意向九家量子公司提供20亿美元支持，以换取其股权。微软是已处于C阶段的两个团队之一，该公司在6月表示，其已利用智能体AI使量子芯片的可靠性提升了1000倍。
In May, the US agreed to back nine quantum companies with $2bn in exchange for equity stakes. Microsoft, one of the two teams already in Stage C, said in June it had used agentic AI to make its quantum chip 1,000 times more reliable.