We are seeing a wild shift in the market. The government isn't just giving out research grants anymore. Instead, they are taking direct equity stakes in tech companies.
A new investor report shows that the federal government recently bought shares in several firms under the CHIPS Act. They put a massive $1 billion into IBM for wafer manufacturing. But they also put $100 million each into smaller, pure-play quantum computing stocks.
This cash injection caused stocks like IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave to skyrocket over 100% from their recent lows.
The government also passed a big law extending support for this tech until 2034. Plus, federal agencies face strict deadlines to upgrade their cybersecurity before old encryption methods become useless.
But here is the catch. These quantum stocks are seeing huge short interest. Some are valued in the billions while making very little revenue. It is a massive battle between retail hype, government backing, and short sellers.
If you don't want the risk of picking single stocks, the report mentions the Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM). It is up 45% over the past year, mostly because it holds safe semiconductor suppliers rather than risky startups.
Are you buying the quantum hype, or is this a massive bubble waiting to burst?
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Not financial advice.