US Government Invests $2 Billion in Nine Quantum Computing Firms, Takes Equity Stakes

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based personalized news recommendation and summary service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.

1. Quantum Industry Joins Trump-Style Cultivation… US Government Also Secures Corporate Equity

- Key Summary: The US Department of Commerce is providing $2 billion (approximately 3 trillion won) to nine companies including IBM, Rigetti, Quantinuum, and D-Wave, and has directly acquired approximately 1% of GlobalFoundries and stakes in some startups. McKinsey, in a report last month, analyzed that quantum computing has reached a commercial turning point, with 2025 investment volume surging 6.3-fold from a year earlier to $12.6 billion. China is accelerating its centralized pursuit, with Origin Quantum's "Origin Wukong" processor recording more than 20 million cloud connections from 145 countries in its first year of release. With IBM estimating that quantum computing will create up to $850 billion in economic value by 2040, observers interpret this as a structural shift in which the US-China technology rivalry is expanding into the quantum field.

2. POSCO International Emerges as 'Buddy' in US Rare Earth Supply Chain

- Key Summary: POSCO International has established a joint venture with ReElement Technologies, jointly investing a total of $200 million (approximately 301.1 billion won) to build a rare earth separation and refining plant in the US with an annual capacity of 6,000 tons. The first phase will establish an annual production system of 3,000 tons, with mass production targeted for 2028, and it is expected to become the first integrated production base in the US, vertically integrating from separation and refining to permanent magnet manufacturing and waste magnet recycling. China currently controls about 70% of global rare earth production and more than 90% of refining and processing, and is raising the level of export controls amid intensifying US-China tensions. Analysts say the US policy stance of accelerating the construction of supply chains away from China is broadening opportunities for Korean companies to enter local supply chains.

3. Amid SpaceX's Rapid Index Inclusion Push… 144 Trillion Won in Selling Pressure

- Key Summary: As SpaceX, set to list on the 12th of next month, moves visibly toward early inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500, JP Morgan estimates that up to $95 billion (approximately 144 trillion won) in passive fund selling will occur based on a $2 trillion valuation. Asian markets took a direct hit, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index falling more than 2% on the 21st and China's STAR Market index plunging 4%. The New York Times projected that the combined fees of 22 underwriters, including lead underwriter Goldman Sachs, will exceed $1 billion (approximately 1.5 trillion won). Forecasts suggest that the parade of mega-IPOs from SpaceX to Anthropic to OpenAI will trigger large-scale portfolio reshuffling of global passive funds.

4. Pleaded with Xi Jinping, but… Musk and Jensen Huang Came 'Empty-Handed'

- Key Summary: A large economic delegation including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Apple CEO Tim Cook accompanied the US-China summit in Beijing on the 14th-15th of this month and requested regulatory easing from China, but achieved no substantial results. Nvidia received approval to export H200 chips within the US but is blocked from sales due to lack of permission from Chinese authorities, while Qualcomm faces an antitrust investigation and BlackRock's port acquisition plan has been challenged by China, with regulatory walls remaining firm across industries. Boeing's commitment to purchase 200 aircraft and positive signals on Citigroup's approval to establish an independent securities firm were cited as achievements, drawing assessments that the results were merely selective. The NYT evaluated that although the delegation tried to win favor with both the US and China, not much has changed, and observers interpret this as a moment reaffirming the structural persistence of technology regulatory conflicts.