On June 22, 2026, the White House signed two executive orders that put quantum computing in the same policy tier as AI and advanced semiconductors — with hard deadlines, federal procurement commitments, and a direct national-security framing.
Directs an updated National Quantum Strategy within 180 days; establishes the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science (QC-ADDS) effort to deliver a scientifically useful quantum computer to a Department of Energy facility; expands the Quantum Information Science and Technology Counterintelligence Protection Team; and directs new National Quantum Workforce Development Institutes and domestic supply-chain protections.
Sets a national post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration policy. Federal agencies must transition high-value assets to PQC for key establishment by December 31, 2030, and for digital signatures by December 31, 2031 — materially ahead of the 2035 target set under the prior National Security Memorandum 10.
The Department of Commerce announced letters of intent to take equity stakes in nine leading U.S. quantum companies, worth roughly $2 billion — a direct financing signal preceding the June executive orders.
President Trump signed the orders at a ceremony attended by IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Google leadership. Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed quantum computing, AI, and advanced semiconductors as the "three-part foundation of future computing technology."
Export controls on cryogenics, control electronics, and fabrication tools have accelerated China's push for fully domestic quantum supply chains, with Origin Quantum's Wukong-180 and USTC's Zuchongzhi 3.0 positioned as sovereign alternatives to IBM and Google hardware.
The Commerce Department is directed to explore advance market commitments — the same demand-guarantee mechanism used for vaccines and early SpaceX contracts — to de-risk private capital expenditure on quantum manufacturing capacity.
Both orders explicitly name domestic manufacturing capacity and supply-chain security as priorities — the wafer-fabrication layer, not just the algorithms layer, is now an object of federal policy.
The PQC order is justified in part by adversaries collecting encrypted U.S. data today for future decryption once large-scale QPUs exist — tying the QPU hardware timeline directly to near-term cybersecurity deadlines.
Congress is separately pursuing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and modernize the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, which would add statutory funding to complement the executive orders.