Quantum stocks attempted a recovery Wednesday morning following weeks of steep losses, spurred by news of technical breakthroughs and the U.S. Department of Energy’s $625 million funding commitment to quantum research centers. 

• RGTI stock is climbing. Watch the real-time price action here. 

The rebound was led by the biggest names, such as sector giants IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ), Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI), and D-Wave Quantum, Inc. (NYSE:QBTS), which saw recent retracements but appeared to be finding support as buyers returned.​

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DOE Funding Impact

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy announced $625 million in funding to fuel the next five years of quantum technology R&D at five national research centers founded initially under the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018. 

The investment is aimed at accelerating breakthroughs in computing, quantum sensing and secure communications, establishing American research as a global leader in the field.​

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Commerce Department is considering taking equity stakes in several quantum companies in exchange for federal funding. 

The Commerce Department later denied that active talks were underway, stating in a statement that it was 「not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum computing companies.」

Other Catalysts

Technical advancements could be aiding the sector's attempted recovery. 

D-Wave announced on Wednesday that it completed its joint proof-of-concept project that used a hybrid-quantum application to optimize manufacturing workflows in coordination with BASF. 

Google's Willow chip recently demonstrated the first verifiable quantum advantage over classical supercomputers, capable of calculating molecular structures at speeds exponentially faster than anything before.​ The achievement from a big tech name added credibility to the sector. 

Investor focus is shifting toward upcoming earnings with IonQ set to report its third-quarter financial results after Wednesday's closing bell. Analysts expect the company to report losses of 44 cents per share and revenue of $26.98 million, according to estimates from Benzinga Pro. 

D-Wave is set to report ahead of Thursday's opening bell and Rigetti is scheduled to release its Q3 results the following Monday. 

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