Quantum Funding, Insider Sales
D-Wave Quantum Secures $1.57M NSF Grant for ERASE Project, Despite Recent Insider Stock Sales
Anonymous
Key Points
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Insider selling signals potential near-term investor concern: in the past three months, D-Wave insiders sold about $36.8 million worth of shares, despite the NSF grant and ERASE program progress.
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D-Wave is highlighted as a dual-platform quantum player, described as the only company that builds both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, underscoring its unique hardware portfolio.
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ERASE researchers will access D-Wave's superconducting dual-rail gate-model resources via selected development interfaces and APIs, enabling collaboration with Yale to advance hardware, software and error-correction work.
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There are signals of alignment with CHIPS and Science Act funding initiatives, including a Letter of Intent for about $100 million to support development and scaling of D-Wave’s quantum technologies.
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D-Wave’s leadership emphasizes NSF’s continued backing as nationally important for building a U.S. quantum workforce and technological foundation, reflecting a broader strategic objective to sustain leadership in quantum computing.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. has been awarded $1,566,250 from the U.S. National Science Foundation to support its role in the Yale-led ERASE project, a federal effort to build fault-tolerant quantum computers, according to Quantum Computing Report. The grant moves ERASE into its second phase, shifting from theory to actual hardware and software blueprints.
CEO Alan Baratz called NSF's backing a sign of "the national importance of accelerating progress toward scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing." The award makes D-Wave the primary industrial partner for the ERASE consortium, which is led by Yale University and includes a network of academic and research institutions, The Quantum Insider reported.
What the ERASE Project Is Trying to Solve
Quantum computers make a lot of errors. Environmental noise constantly disrupts qubits — the basic units of quantum information. Fixing those errors normally requires enormous overhead, slowing everything down. The ERASE project targets this problem directly using "dual-rail" or "erasure" qubits, according to Quantum Computing Report. These special qubits raise a flag when an error occurs, making them far easier to correct than standard qubits.
Yale physicist Steven Girvin, who leads the ERASE consortium, explained the key difference: "The dual-resonator, or erasure, qubits can raise a flag when the dominant error occurs." D-Wave gained access to this technology in January 2026 when it acquired Yale-affiliated startup Quantum Circuits, Inc. for roughly $550 million in cash and stock, TipRanks noted.
D-Wave's Unique Dual-Platform Strategy Sets It Apart
D-Wave describes itself as the only company that builds both annealing and gate-model quantum computers. Annealing systems solve near-term optimization problems today. Gate-model systems aim for long-term, universal quantum computing. By owning both, D-Wave argues it can serve customers across the entire quantum market, GuruFocus reported.
Researchers in the ERASE project will access D-Wave's superconducting dual-rail hardware through selected development interfaces and APIs. The $1.57 million grant is D-Wave's slice of a total $4 million NSF award for the ERASE Phase 2 consortium. The company also signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce in May 2026 for $100 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding, which would give the government an equity stake in D-Wave.
Massive Insider Selling Raises Questions About Stock Price
Despite the grant news and government backing, D-Wave insiders sold $36.8 million in shares over the 90 days before June 30, 2026, according to GuruFocus. CEO Baratz sold roughly $18.95 million worth of stock. CFO John Markovich sold about $17.23 million, partly to cover tax obligations.
Skeptics argue that if the NSF grant and CHIPS Act LOI were truly transformative, insiders would not be selling tens of millions in equity at the same time. Meanwhile, D-Wave's Q1 2026 revenue fell 81% year-over-year to $2.9 million, though bookings surged 1,994% to $33.4 million — signaling strong future demand but little near-term revenue, TipRanks noted. The company's market cap sits at roughly $8.69 billion.
Government Support Positions D-Wave as a National Champion
The ERASE project carries political weight beyond the lab. Yale's consortium includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities in its workforce development plan, a move seen as key to keeping bipartisan federal support alive. NSF Acting Director Brian Stone said the NQVL program breaks down "silos" between academia and industry to improve national quality of life.
If the $100 million CHIPS Act deal closes, the U.S. government would become a strategic shareholder in D-Wave — effectively making it a federally backed "national champion" for quantum computing. D-Wave also plans to expand hiring in New Haven, Connecticut and Boca Raton, Florida as ERASE moves into hardware blueprinting, according to The Quantum Insider. Analysts set a mean price target of $37 on the stock, implying roughly 57% upside from current levels.
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