Gains in stocks in the quantum computing sector continued on Monday after JPMorgan announced it would make quantum computing a focus area of its new investment plan. The bank said in a statement that it will invest up to US$10 billion in companies in four major areas, including: supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy technology, and cutting-edge and strategic technology - quantum computing belongs to the frontier and strategic technology field.
After the news was announced, the share prices of Arqit Quantum, D-Wave Quantum and Rigetti Computing all rose by about 20%, IONQ's share price rose by 15%, and Quantum Computing's share price climbed by 10%.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement: "A worrying fact has become abundantly clear - the United States relies too much on unreliable sources for critical minerals, products and manufacturing that are essential to our national security."
This investment initiative is part of JPMorgan Chase’s larger Security and Resiliency Initiative. The long-term, 10-year, $1.5 trillion plan is designed to provide financing and investment support for industries the bank determines are critical to U.S. national and economic security.
Quantum computing is one of 27 segments JPMorgan is focusing on. In the past month, stocks in the quantum computing sector have experienced triple-digit gains: Rigetti and D-Wave shares have risen 175% and 130% respectively.
Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon have shown strong interest in gate-model quantum computing. This type of quantum computing technology is expected to solve complex problems that are difficult for traditional computers to deal with.
Currently, users can access Rigetti and IONQ quantum computers through Amazon Braket, a quantum computing service platform under Amazon Cloud Services.
In February this year, Microsoft launched its first quantum computing chip, Majorana 1; late last year, Google also released a new breakthrough quantum chip called Willow.