On Thursday Eastern Time, a report from the Wall Street Journal stated that the U.S. government is in discussions with companies that are developing quantum computing technology to discuss equity transactions in exchange for government funding.

The report said several quantum companies are negotiating equity deals with the U.S. Commerce Department in exchange for government funding.

As soon as the news came out, U.S. quantum technology stocks surged at the opening on Thursday, and the gains continued to expand.

Shares of Quantum Computing Inc., Rigetti Computing, IonQ and D-Wave Quantum soared 14%, 16%, 13% and 23% respectively during intraday trading on Thursday.

Does the White House’s denial statement trigger more reverie?

Although the White House issued a statement denying the report around noon on Thursday Eastern Time, the rise in related concept stocks continued.

A White House spokesperson said in a statement: “The Department of Commerce is not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum computing companies. “

However, this brief statement did not extinguish the enthusiasm of stock investors for quantum computing stocks. Instead, it triggered more reveries: The word “currently” may imply that negotiations will be held later, while the word “equity” may imply a different transaction structure.

What further fueled the enthusiasm of investors was Rigetti Computing’s response to the matter. In a statement, the company said:

” We are in ongoing engagement with the U.S. government about funding opportunities . If the U.S. does not take the lead in supporting these breakthroughs, other countries will, posing a significant risk to our national security.”

Does the Trump administration really want to invest in quantum technology?

This year, the Trump administration has invested in companies including rare earth metals and mining companies as well as large hardware manufacturers like Intel. So it wouldn’t seem surprising if quantum technology becomes central to discussions about technological advancement in another area the United States hopes to dominate.

Although quantum technology is only just making its way from the laboratory to the real world, its sophisticated technology is touted as having numerous potential applications.

Google is currently actively researching the technology, claiming it could help achieve goals ranging from speeding up medical diagnostics to developing new materials. The tech giant said this week that its quantum computer can run algorithms on a piece of hardware 13,000 times faster than the fastest “traditional supercomputers.”

Meanwhile, IBM last month announced a major breakthrough when it completed the first bond transaction powered by quantum technology. The company also demonstrated progress using quantum technology for portfolio management, demonstrating its potential to disrupt traditional investing functions.