What happened: D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) stock surged more than 9% in pre-market trading on Monday.
What’s behind the move: Shares of the quantum computing company rose after the company announced that AT&T (T) will expand the use of D-Wave’s technology across its network operations
The agreement, building on previous pilot projects, is aimed at optimizing telecom workloads. Quantum peers also jumped, with Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and Infleqtion (INFQ) climbing more than 3% pre-market. IBM (IBM) also gained more than 1%.
What else you need to know: Shares of D-Wave, Rigetti, and Infleqtion have been volatile this year, with all three down more than 35% year-to-date. In May, the stocks rallied after the US Department of Commerce signed letters of intent to provide funding for research and development projects. The funding is part of a government initiative to distribute more than $2 billion in federal incentives to nine quantum-related companies in exchange for a minority equity stake in those firms.