Alan Baratz of D-Wave Quantum (David Fitzgerald/Getty Images)

The Art of the Science Deal

D-Wave CEO’s pitch to the Trump administration: Buy our quantum computers in exchange for an equity stake

“I want them to get something of value in return, not just equity in the company, but I want them to get products that they can actually use to solve their hard problems,” said D-Wave CEO Dr. Alan Baratz.

Luke Kawa

11/7/25 8:56AM

Over the past few months, the biggest catalyst for quantum computing stocks has been the prospect of government support. This was nurtured by agreements between pure-play companies in the space and the likes of the Department of Energy and the Air Force Research Laboratory, and gained further traction when the US government highlighted quantum technology as an R&D budgetary priority for fiscal 2027.

But this narrative really kicked into high gear and reached its zenith on October 23, when The Wall Street Journal reported that the US government was in negotiations with several quantum computing companies about giving the US Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding. That news was quickly seemingly contradicted by separate reporting from Reuters and Yahoo Finance.

We caught up with D-Wave Quantum CEO Dr. Alan Baratz on Wednesday following the release of Q3 earnings and asked him if the US government amassing an equity position was something he was actively pursuing, and if he wanted the government as a shareholder.

Here’s his response (emphasis added):

“So here’s my take on it. What I would like and think would be of real value to the US government is for them to purchase some of our quantum computers to use them in solving their hard defense problems, military logistics, equipment maintenance, missile placement. These quantum computers are capable of solving these hard optimizations today.

So I’d say to the US government, ‘Purchase some of our systems and we’ll give you some equity as a part of that deal.’ So I have no problem with the US government being an investor in D-Wave, an equity holder in D-Wave, but I don’t think it’s the best use of the taxpayer money for them to kind of provide free dollars to fund R&D when we’re well funded already to fund our R&D.

I want them to get something of value in return, not just equity in the company, but I want them to get products that they can actually use to solve their hard problems. So I want to give them value two ways: I want to give them value by delivering products that they can make use of to solve hard problems, and at the same time, give them some equity so they can benefit from upside in the company.”

D-Wave’s flagship annealing quantum computer system is the Advantage2, which it used to produce its “quantum supremacy” result, in which the computer determined what types of materials would make for good sensors and how to fine-tune those sensors, a task that it said would be time and energy prohibitive for a classical supercomputer. The company recently struck a €10 million deal with Swiss Quantum Technology to deploy one of these systems.

This year, the Trump administration has reached deals to receive an equity stake or warrants in companies considered to be operating in strategically important industries, including rare earths miners MP Materials (in July) and Lithium Americas (in October), and, most famously, chipmaker Intel.

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J. Edward Moreno2/6/26

FDA says it will take “decisive steps” against GLP-1 compounders, HHS refers Hims to DOJ for investigation

The Food and Drug Administration said it would take "decisive steps" to restrict GLP-1 compounding, a day after Hims & Hers announced that it would sell copies ofNovo Nordisk’sWegovy pill.

The FDA specifically called out Hims in the announcement. Additionally, Department of Health and Human Services' General Counsel Mike Stuart said in a post on X on Friday he has referred Hims to the Department of Justice "for investigation for potential violations by Hims of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and applicable Title 18 provisions."

In a statement, Hims said the company "has always operated with a deep commitment to the safety and best interests of consumers and in compliance with applicable law."

"We have a long history of successfully working with regulators, and look forward to continuing to engage with the FDA to ensure safe access to affordable healthcare," they said.

Based on a review of the applicable facts, earlier today @HHSOGC referred Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (“Hims”) to the Department of Justice for investigation for potential violations by Hims of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and applicable Title 18 provisions.
— HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart (@HHSGCMikeStuart) February 6, 2026

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Shares of Hims fell 14% after hours. The stock had already taken a hit after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in an X post on Thursday that the agency would “take swift action against companies mass-marketing illegal copycat drugs.”

Hims, long flying under regulators’ radar, finally strikes a nerve with its Wegovy pill copy

In a statement, Hims said the company "has always operated with a deep commitment to the safety and best interests of consumers and in compliance with applicable law."

"We have a long history of successfully working with regulators, and look forward to continuing to engage with the FDA to ensure safe access to affordable healthcare," they said.

Based on a review of the applicable facts, earlier today @HHSOGC referred Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (“Hims”) to the Department of Justice for investigation for potential violations by Hims of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and applicable Title 18 provisions.
— HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart (@HHSGCMikeStuart) February 6, 2026

This marks a significant shift in tone from the FDA, which has done little to prevent companies like Hims from marketing copies of Novo's lucrative weight loss drugs.

Tasha Matsumoto

2/6/26

Tech rebound propels stocks to best day since May

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all climbed higher as the AI trade was back on.

Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman (91) and Michael Jordan (23) in action, rebounding vs Charlotte Hornets

Max Knoblauch2/6/26

Airlines rise, continuing their volatile 2026, as US-Iran talks may foreshadow some oil supply relief

Airline stocks are surging on Friday, as the market appears to be pricing in some medium-term oil pricing relief following talks between the US and Iran. Iranian officials referred to the meeting as “a good beginning.”

Shares of budget carriers, which have tighter margins and are more sensitive to fluctuations in fuel costs, are leading the surge. Frontier Airlines and Allegiant up more than 13%, while major airlines like United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines are also up at least 6%. JetBlue and Alaska Air are similarly up about 6%.

The market more broadly is rebounding on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 1.6% and bitcoin recovering some of this week’s losses.

Airlines have been volatile to start 2026 amid geopolitical tensions, varying annual forecasts, and the impact of winter storms.

Luke Kawa2/6/26

The AI supply chain is soaring thanks to Amazon’s capex budget

If tech companies are going to spend way more than expected on capex, well, that means other companies are poised to benefit from that massive spending spree.

Amazon’s plan for $200 billion in business investment this year was the exclamation point to end a reporting period that saw every Magnificent 7 hyperscaler that provides guidance offer a 2026 capex budget well above what Wall Street had anticipated.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

Data center/neocloud companies: Applied Digital, CoreWeave, Cipher Mining, and Nebius, with some of these seemingly getting an extra lift from their legacy role as crypto miners.
Chips: the usual suspects — Nvidia, Broadcom, and Advanced Micro Devices.
Racks: Super Micro Computer, which is continuing its strong run following earnings, and Dell.
Power: Oklo, Nuscale, and Plug Power.

Big Tech capital expenditure soared in 2025. It’s going up another 50% in 2026.

Here’s a look at the different parts of the supply chain that are soaring on the persistent demand for, and seeming scarcity of, AI compute:

Data center/neocloud companies: Applied Digital, CoreWeave, Cipher Mining, and Nebius, with some of these seemingly getting an extra lift from their legacy role as crypto miners.
Chips: the usual suspects — Nvidia, Broadcom, and Advanced Micro Devices.
Racks: Super Micro Computer, which is continuing its strong run following earnings, and Dell.
Power: Oklo, Nuscale, and Plug Power.

Matt Phillips2/6/26

For memory chips, the “parabolic price hike” is continuing to ramp higher

The remarkable run-up in prices for memory chips continued into early February, analysts at Bernstein Research say, driven largely by data center demand from hyperscalers and cloud service providers (CSP).

Prices for NAND flash memory wafers — a type of memory used in devices, as it retains data even when powered down — soared 35% between the end of 2025 and February 2.

Spot prices for DRAM — ubiquitous short-term data storage chips — jumped about 28% in that period. But that massively understates the remarkable shift in pricing for what were long seen as commodity tech hardware inputs. DRAM prices are more than 2,000% over the last year, while NAND prices are up more than 600% in that period.

The ongoing momentum provides still more support for memory chip plays like Micron and Sandisk, which have been big market winners in recent months.

In a note published earlier this week, Bernstein Research analysts wrote:

“The parabolic price hike continued in Jan. Indicated price increase for 1QCY26 is much stronger than we expected and we hence see upside to our near term memory pricing projection. Unrelenting CSP demand remained the main driver. PC and Mobile demand hasn’t been destroyed yet because of lean inventory & pull-forward purchase. Going forward price hike is expected to continue but likely at a slower rate, as PC and Mobile demand should contract meaningfully this year. Price however may stay elevated throughout this year, supported by CSP demand.”

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