Published: November 14, 2025
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced that 11 companies have been selected to move into Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). The program, launched earlier this year, is designed to evaluate quantum computing efforts with the objective of achieving utility-scale quantum performance by 2033.
What’s happening?
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Stage A involved 15 companies defining a “plausible path to realization in the near term”.
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Now, Stage B will engage 11 firms: Atom Computing, Diraq, IBM, IonQ, Nord Quantique, Photonic Inc., Quantinuum, Quantum Motion, QuEra Computing, Silicon Quantum Computing, and Xanadu.
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During Stage B the participating companies are required to develop detailed R&D roadmaps, identify and mitigate key risks, and specify the prototypes needed to reach their utility-scale quantum computer concepts.
Why this matters -
This initiative signals a shift from “quantum promise” to “quantum engineering”. For the quantum ecosystem, this is a signal that we’re entering the era of rigorous evaluation rather than just hype.
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For ventures like yours (under the PostQuantumApps brand), this means: the horizon for viable quantum hardware/software is being refined — your strategic planning can reflect that quantum-safe applications are nearing a more predictable phase.
Key takeaway
DARPA’s QBI is making clear that only those architectures that can show a plausible roadmap to utility-scale quantum computing will progress. This selection of 11 companies marks a selective filter phase. For your roadmap: map where your own apps can align with this shift.
What to watch next -
Which of these firms publish their detailed deliverables (Stage B submissions) and what metrics DARPA uses.
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Which architectures gain traction (ion traps? neutral atoms? photonics?). From QBI-12 data: neutral atoms (Atom, QuEra), trapped ions (IonQ, Quantinuum), superconducting (IBM, Nord) among others.
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How this influences quantum-safe software, cryptography and post-quantum application layers: your domain.
Stay tuned: the quantum future is getting defined, not just imagined. 🌌