Shares of D-Wave Quantum surged as the company disclosed a Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $100 million in proposed CHIPS Act funding, catapulting the stock from $19.30 to a pre-market price of $28.07 in roughly 48 hours — a gain of over 45%. D-Wave Scores $100 Million Government Bet on Quantum, but Does a Letter of Intent Justify a 45% Rally for a Company With $2.9 Million in Quarterly Revenue?

Shares of D-Wave Quantum rocketed more than 45% in two sessions after the company signed a Letter of Intent — essentially a handshake agreement that still requires final paperwork — with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $100 million in proposed CHIPS Act funding. The stock hit $28.07 in pre-market, pushing the market cap past $10 billion for a company that just reported $2.9 million in quarterly revenue.

  • Washington's Stamp of Approval Comes With a Catch for Shareholders. In exchange for the funding, D-Wave would issue $100 million in shares of its common stock to the U.S. Department of Commerce — meaning the government gets an equity stake and existing investors get diluted. The company explicitly highlights dilution risk for existing shareholders from this equity issuance.

Shares outstanding have already grown by nearly 226% since the start of the AI revolution , so this adds to an established pattern of funding operations by selling stock.

  • The Money Isn't in the Bank Yet. An LOI is not a signed contract. The award is subject to the execution of definitive award documents by the parties.

The company warns of risks such as failure to execute definitive documents, conditions on disbursement, and funding availability. The market is pricing in certainty on something that is, by definition, preliminary.

  • A $10 Billion Valuation on Negligible Revenue Demands Scrutiny. Q1 2026 revenue was $2.9 million, a decrease of 81% from the year-ago quarter , which benefited from a one-time system sale. Operating losses came in at $46.8 million — nearly 10 times as much as in the first quarter of last year. Even the bullish bookings figure — $33.4 million in Q1, up 1,994% year over year — reflects future commitments, not cash in the door today.

  • The Funding Could Accelerate Hardware That Doesn't Exist Yet. The funded initiatives would help D-Wave expedite delivery of a 100,000-qubit annealing system and a 10,000-qubit gate-model system.

D-Wave's gate-model system is expected to reach commercial viability with 10,000 physical qubits — a target, not a product. The $100 million is an R&D lifeline for next-generation machines, not revenue fuel for today's business.

Bottom line: The government endorsement is real and strategically significant, but investors are paying a steep premium for a preliminary agreement at a company burning cash roughly 16 times faster than it earns revenue. The gap between the narrative and the numbers remains enormous.