IRC: #techbytes @ Techrights IRC Network: Friday, October 16, 2026

-TechBytesBot/#techbytes- ( status 403 @ https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1m4fg271f#replies )

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IBM Gets Defense Dept. Quantum Stamp of Approval. Investors Should Take Notice.

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Stage C participants could receive up to $300

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million from the government if their designs

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perform as promised.

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And if the designs don't perform as promised, then what could the participants receive? Presumably bupkis.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/ibm-quantum-darpa-computer-bddb8ce9

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By: Mackenzie Tatananni | Updated Oct 08, 2026, 10:07 am EDT / Original Oct 07, 2026, 5:30 pm EDT

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IBM’s quantum computing program was in the spotlight Thursday after a U.S. Department of Defense agency gave it a vital boost. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) named industry giant International Business Machines to advance to the final stage of the agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.

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Quantum computing is often framed as the next technological revolution, ushering in a generation of ultra-powerful machines that can solve problems beyond the reach of classical computers. Quantum applications are being explored in areas including dr-g discovery, financial modeling, and supply-chain optimization.

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The technical leap remains in the development phase for now. The ultimate goal is to build fault-tolerant quantum systems that can detect and correct errors in real time, much like today’s computers. Achieving this milestone is no small feat, as quantum hardware is extraordinarily sensitive to environmental noise like vibrations and temperature fluctuations.

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Consequently, the commercial landscape for quantum remains in its infancy. Evaluating opportunities in this space is particularly challenging for investors as they wait for the technology to mature and deliver tangible economic value.

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That’s where DARPA comes in. The agency’s quantum benchmarking program, launched in 2024, serves as an independent audit of its participants’ progress toward building an industrially useful, error-corrected system by 2033.

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As IBM enters Stage C, independent experts from the agency—an arm of the Defense Department—will move beyond reviewing the company’s technical plans to directly testing its quantum hardware and supporting technologies.

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Reaching Stage C brings IBM into a “rigorous phase of independent evaluation,” according to Oliver Dial, IBM fellow and vice president of quantum systems. “IBM is ready for that test,” he added.

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The evaluation is just as critical for investors. In an industry rife with grand claims and hype, the Quantum Benchmark Initiative offers an objective look at which companies have the best shot at building utility-scale systems.

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Stage C participants could receive up to $300 million from the government if their designs perform as promised. Beyond the capital, DARPA’s endorsement provides vital credibility, offering a stamp of approval on IBM’s plan to release a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029. The selection builds on recent momentum, including the launch of IBM’s most advanced quantum processor to date and a demonstration proving how chips can

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be linked to increase processing power.

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“We welcome DARPA’s independent evaluation and the opportunity to demonstrate why IBM is positioned to start delivering scalable fault-tolerant quantum computers this decade,” Dial said.

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Also advancing to Stage C are IonQ, Australia’s Diraq, and venture-backed quantum start-up Atom Computing. As Rosenblatt analyst John McPeake noted on Wednesday, the four companies join Microsoft and privately held PsiQuantum, both of which qualified last year through their participation in a separate pilot program.

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One notable name was missing from the list: Quantinuum, the Honeywell spinout that went public in June. Quantinuum is frequently cited as a technical leader in the field, making its omission all the more surprising.

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In a preprint published earlier this week, researchers at Germany’s Jülich Supercomputing Centre used a lightweight, low-resource benchmark to evaluate quantum processors during error correction. The study revealed that Quantinuum’s Helios processor outperformed IBM chips in certain operations critical to error correction.

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To be clear, Quantinuum hasn’t been dropped from the program. A spokesperson told Barron’s the company is actively discussing a “Stage C scope of work” with DARPA while continuing to work on its Stage B contract, which centers on research and development.

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Quantinuum reiterated that it remains on track to deliver useful quantum systems by the start of the next decade. “We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with DARPA to advance our shared vision for utility-scale quantum computing,” the spokesperson said.

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Although the initiative can help investors find opportunities in the space, the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative isn’t structured as a competition. That sets it apart from a $215 million quantum initiative the Energy Department unveiled last month.

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Recent executive orders underscore how these efforts align with a broader U.S. strategy to secure domestic supply chains and corner the global quantum technology market. To that end, the federal government has set an ambitious target to deploy a fault-tolerant, “scientifically relevant” quantum system at a national laboratory by 2028.

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-TechBytesBot/#techbytes- ( status 401 @ https://www.barrons.com/articles/ibm-quantum-darpa-computer-bddb8ce9 )

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So did a bunch of other companies

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7 days ago by Anonymous

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| 4 reactions (+3/-1) | Reply

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Post ID: @b8+1m4fg271f

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Quantum Computing is a scam and all these companies should be forced to pay back these hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars when 2033 rolls around and it becomes apparent that QC is still 30+ years away.

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https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1m4nq6sh1

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-TechBytesBot/#techbytes- ( status 403 @ https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1m4nq6sh1 )

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Definitely a sales role. ATS is the technical counterpart to the AE. Should be managing relationship with C-level and direct reports. AE and ATS span all Microsoft offerings. One level down from that are Sellers who focus on a particular area (M365, Security, Azure). Each seller will be tied to a few Solution Engineers that specialize further. Some Sellers are technical, many are not and the lean on the SEs.

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https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1m4h3mxs1

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-TechBytesBot/#techbytes- ( status 403 @ https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1m4h3mxs1 )

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"c woah open threat on a public platform ? Somebody is getting flagged in my model!

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2 days ago by Anonymous

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| 1 reaction (+1/-0) | Reply

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Post ID: @za+1m4h3mxs1

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@dq the ONE nationality that accounts for most of the abuse of the visa system. It is about time.

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2 days ago by Anonymous

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| no reactions | Reply

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Post ID: @wc+1m4h3mxs1

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@dq Running models on these contents. It’s easy to connect the commenters, similar posts across different organizations. You can easily find this is coordinated effort.

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