Albany Builds A Quantum Foundry

Happy Thursday.

The build this week: A $2 billion quantum-wafer manufacturing push is taking shape in Albany, with a finalized federal award, new IBM capital and the first wafers already running.

Underneath: a $205 million satellite raise, a $1.5 billion ceiling CENTCOM award, a new rad-hard chip line and fresh capital for the physical economy.

The Lead

The big picture: Quantum computing is moving from bespoke lab hardware toward a manufacturing problem. On Wednesday, IBM company Anderon finalized an award of up to $1 billion from the Commerce Department to expand a pure-play quantum wafer foundry in Albany, New York. IBM is putting in another $1 billion.

Driving the news: The 300-millimeter facility is designed to manufacture specialized wafers for superconducting qubit arrays, quantum input and output, and readout components. The first quantum wafers are already running through the line.

Why it matters: A shared foundry gives startups, researchers and larger systems companies access to process technology without each group building its own fab. That can turn manufacturing learning into common infrastructure for the quantum ecosystem, while keeping more of the critical supply chain in the United States.

What's next: The award is for R&D, and broad commercial volume still has to be earned. The milestones now are repeatable yield, external customer access and process support beyond today's superconducting architectures.

Read the IBM announcement.

Defense & Space

• EnduroSat raised $205 million to expand standardized satellite production, including a new high-volume manufacturing facility in the United States.

• CACI received a CENTCOM award with a $1.5 billion ceiling and expects to book $1.2 billion across one base year and four option periods.

• Intellian and Network Innovations formed a strategic partnership to build multi-band, multi-orbit WGS flyaway terminals for military and government users.

• MDA Space unveiled its end-to-end CHORUS product portfolio ahead of the radar-imaging constellation's launch.

• OUSW and the U.S. National Drone Association selected a venue for National Drone Wars, an interservice attack-drone competition.

Maritime & Shipbuilding

• Hanwha Power received ABS Approval in Principle for a 22,000-cubic-meter LNG bunkering vessel with LNG-ammonia cargo capability and hybrid-electric propulsion.

• TS Cyanergy earned ABS approval for its CE2 platform, clearing the wireless engine-monitoring system for non-essential installations on ABS-classed vessels and offshore assets.

• Borr Drilling announced new contract commitments and an operational update across its modern jack-up rig fleet.

Semiconductors & Electronics

• BAE Systems received $16 million in DPA Title III funding to qualify its RH45 radiation-hardened ASIC technology on GlobalFoundries' 45-nanometer line in Malta, New York.

• onsemi introduced its Embedded Power Platform, using the silicon wafer as the package to deliver up to three to five times higher power density.

• Aeluma signed a CHIPS letter of intent worth up to $30 million for AI and advanced-computing photonics while adding wafer-production equipment.

• VPT launched the FLX Series, a scalable DC-DC converter family for mission-critical systems.

Manufacturing & Automation

• CADDi raised $114 million at a $1.2 billion valuation to expand its manufacturing AI data platform, bringing total funding to $234 million.

• RobotPlusPlus closed a Series C worth tens of millions of dollars to scale robots for inspection and maintenance work at height.

• KanEquip JCB opened a full-service Kansas City dealership with equipment sales, rentals, parts and service.

• Trackonomy completed its acquisition of Identiv's IoT-label business, combining semiconductors, smart labels and cloud software under one group.

• ANSI and ISO released the first full ISO 9001 revision in a decade, updating the world's most-used quality-management standard.

Energy & Materials

• Kanin Energy raised up to $100 million to build and operate waste-heat power projects for heavy industry across Canada and the United States.

• Silver Creek Midstream agreed to sell Powder River Basin assets to Plains All American.

• Illinois American Water completed its acquisition of Venice's wastewater collection system.

• 1911 Gold reported new operational milestones at True North as it advances the Manitoba gold project.

Supply Chain & Freight

• BackOps raised a $42 million Series B after deployments automated carrier claims, billing and order-exception workflows.

• Gaia Dynamics raised a $7 million seed round to expand its trade-compliance and tariff-planning platform.

• EAIGLE and Loblaw expanded their gate-automation partnership across more distribution operations.

• Veritiv introduced TempSafe RxShield for temperature-controlled specialty-pharmacy shipments.

• Echo Global Logistics earned CTPAT validation, joining a small group of validated non-asset-based third-party logistics providers.

Dealbook

• EnduroSat raised $205 million in a round co-led by Riot Ventures and Atreides Management.

• CADDi raised a $114 million Series D at a $1.2 billion valuation.

• Kanin Energy secured commitments of up to $100 million from S2G Investments and Canada Growth Fund.

• BackOps raised a $42 million Series B led by Insight Partners.

• Noetive emerged from stealth with a $41 million seed round led by Eclipse.

• RobotPlusPlus closed a Series C worth tens of millions of dollars.

• May Mobility agreed to go public in a $1.4 billion SPAC transaction.

• Trackonomy completed its acquisition of Identiv's IoT business, including the label-manufacturing operation.

• Axon priced a $1 billion convertible-note offering due in 2031.

• Haymaker Acquisition V priced a $250 million initial public offering.

• Portage closed Ventures Fund IV at $600 million.

Back Tuesday.