DARPA Publishes Quantum Benchmarking Initiative Stage A Solicitation

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency published a solicitation for Stage A of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative on March 9, 2026. The solicitation, designated DARPA-PA-26-02-02, carries a deadline of Sept. 30, 2026. It calls for descriptions of utility-scale quantum computer concepts that include a plausible path to realization in the near term. The Quantum Benchmarking Initiative seeks to determine whether it is possible to build an industrially useful computer by 2033. The program is designed to rigorously verify and validate whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation. Utility-scale operation means the computational value exceeds the cost. The initiative 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, beginning with Stage A. In addition to funding performers, the initiative will provide unbiased third-party verification and validation of an organization's path to a utility-scale quantum computer. It will also communicate the results of this verification and validation effort to other U.S. government stakeholders. The program expands the existing DARPA Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing.