1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
This listing may be outdated. Verify details at the official source before applying.
Find similar grantsDARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative is sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.
Get a weekly digest of new grants like this
A free weekly digest of new foundation and federal funding opportunities as they're added to Granted. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
Department of War organization. Quantum Benchmarking Initiative In the simplest terms, the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) seeks to determine whether it’s possible to build an industrially-useful computer by 2033. Specifically, QBI is designed to rigorously verify and validate whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation — meaning its computational value exceeds its cost.
QBI is not a competition between performers: DARPA is interested in evaluating all viable approaches for which there is available funding. Successful performers will progress through three stages: Stage A: Describe a utility-scale quantum computer concept that has a plausible path to realization in the near term.
Stage B: Describe a Research and Development Plan capable of realizing the utility-scale quantum computer, the risks associated with that plan and the planned risk mitigation steps, and the prototypes needed to burn down these risks. | Learn more about Stage B teams Stage C: Work with the Government to Verify and Validate that their utility-scale quantum computer concept can be constructed as designed and operated as intended.
In addition to funding performers, QBI will add value to their ongoing research and development efforts by providing unbiased third-party verification and validation of an organization’s path to a utility-scale quantum computer. QBI will also effectively communicate the results of this verification and validation effort to other U.S. government stakeholders.
QBI is an expansion of the existing DARPA Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC). QBI is separate from but related to the existing Quantum Benchmarking (QB) program, which sought to determine the yardstick for impact.
Quantum Benchmarking Initiative Topic (QBIT) Stage A QBI Topic Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Proposers Day presentation Quantum Benchmarking Initiative expands quest to separate hype from reality DARPA, State of New Mexico establish framework to advance quantum computing DARPA, State of Maryland sign agreement to propel quantum research DARPA eyes companies targeting industrially useful quantum computers DARPA selects two discrete utility-scale quantum computing approaches for evaluation DARPA to host meeting, discussions with quantum computing companies Moving quantum computing from hype to prototype Voices from DARPA: The Quantum Mechanic | Ep 71
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Universities, research institutions, companies developing quantum technologies. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Applications for DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative are due September 30, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative is funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
DPA26BZ06-DV023 is a Direct-to-Phase-II SBIR paying $700,000 over 18 months plus a $500,000 option. The physics demands 256x more transmit power than the systems that qualify you to compete, and DARPA will not accept modeling alone as proof. Here is the eligibility wall, the five engineering problems, and who can realistically win it before the October 21 close.
Read articleRelease 6's SBIR topics got the attention. Its three STTR topics — SHIELDER, fuel-flexible electric propulsion, and hypersonic wind tunnel noise diagnostics — are all Direct-to-Phase-II, all require a research institution to perform at least 30 percent of the work, and all close October 21, 2026. The feasibility gates are the real filter.
Read articleDPA26BZ06-DV026 offers $300,000 at Phase I or $1,800,000 as a single Direct-to-Phase-II tranche with no options. The deliverable is a simulated auction market that measures whether AI agents deceive, collude, or manipulate the humans they serve — measured entirely from the outside. Here is the 90% efficiency gate, the team composition most bidders will get wrong, and why this topic sits in DARPA's biology office.
Read article