Shares of IBM (NYSE:IBM) rose about 2% on Wednesday intraday trading, settling 0.5% on the closing bell after the company revealed major progress in its quantum computing program. At its annual Quantum Developer Conference,

Its stock is up 3% on the news, but the bigger win runs a lot deeper, as DARPA’s backing positions IonQ in the driver’s seat. From a speculative tech bet, the win is a rare blend of credibility, funding, and future promise that investors will now be watching closely.

Over the past decade, it has been interesting to watch companies push the rock that is quantum computing up the steep hill. As Yuval Boger, chief

Classiq says that the latest extension of its Series C raise included contributions from AMD Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and quantum computer maker IonQ Inc. They were joined by Mirae Asset Capital, LeumiTech77 and Quantum Eretz. The capital infusion boosts the round’s value to more than $200 million.

The selected companies will undergo evaluation to determine if their concepts for a viable quantum computer can be constructed and work as intended.

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NVIDIA, and HPE will seek to open new insights into quantum computing and identify potential strategies toward the integration of quantum, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing for scientific discovery.

Distributed on behalf of SuperQ Quantum Computing Inc.

Quantinuum has announced the launch of Helios, the most accurate general-purpose commercial quantum computer, designed to accelerate quantum computing adoption by enterprises.