A broad-based tech selloff accelerated Tuesday as memory-chip stocks retreated, stoking skepticism about the artificial-intelligence trade. One pocket of the market was managing to brush off the pain.
As semiconductor companies like Marvell and Micron led the market lower, shares of quantum computing players—from smaller names like Infleqtion to more diversified companies like IBM —were on the rise.
Quantum stocks rose on Tuesday following a late-Monday White House announcement, as the government threw its weight behind the technology with two executive orders. Arqit Quantum rose 10%; Infleqtion rose 9%; D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing rose 5%; SEALSQ, IBM, Quantinuum, IONQ, and Rigetti Computing rose 3%.
The directives follow a $2 billion Commerce Department funding package aimed at building out the domestic quantum supply chain. That initiative included commitments to take equity stakes in smaller firms and partner with IBM to launch a stand-alone, “pure-play” quantum foundry.
The first executive order pertains to the development of what a senior White House official calls “the first-ever quantum computer powerful enough for scientific research.” The Energy Department will set the technical specifications for the machine, which is expected to be housed in a national laboratory by 2028.
That characterization is a bit misleading, considering today’s quantum computers are already used for scientific research. While IBM and Alphabet’s Google are among the most prolific publishers, all quantum companies—even those focusing on commercial sales—have aimed to validate their technology through scientific demonstrations.
The second order focuses on cybersecurity, fast-tracking the government’s shift to post-quantum cryptography by 2031. The directive addresses the looming threat of quantum systems powerful enough to crack the encryption guarding much of the world’s data—a milestone Google warns could arrive by 2029. Other expert projections push that threat into the 2030s, aligning better with the government’s target.
Infleqtion and IBM were among the most visible companies at the Oval Office event, which may explain their outsized stock gains. Infleqtion CEO Matt Kinsella and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna both attended the signing alongside Ruth Porat, president of Google parent Alphabet.
An endorsement from J.P. Morgan further lifted IBM shares. The firm upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral on Tuesday, calling growing AI adoption a major catalyst for IBM’s software business.
Still, IBM’s rally was the exception on Tuesday, not the rule. The broad selloff came as investors reassessed stretched AI valuations. Quantum stocks face plenty of their own hype-and-speculation critiques, but Washington’s backing was providing the perfect shelter from the market’s storm.