Insider Brief
- IonQ completed its acquisition of UK-based Oxford Ionics, strengthening its trapped ion quantum technology and expanding its presence in Europe, Asia, and other global markets.
- The deal adds Oxford Ionics’ patented ion trap innovations and team of scientists to IonQ’s existing hardware and software stack, supporting the roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
- IonQ plans to integrate Oxford Ionics’ semiconductor-based ion trap technology into its systems, enhancing performance and enabling scalable quantum architectures for computing and networking.
PRESS RELEASE — IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the leader in the quantum computing and networking industries, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of Oxford Ionics, a quantum computing company based in the United Kingdom. The transaction accelerates IonQ’s technology roadmap for more powerful, high-fidelity quantum computers, and supports the company’s expansion into the UK, Europe, Asia, and other global markets.
Oxford Ionics brings to IonQ a team of world-class scientists and engineers, along with patented innovations in trapped ion quantum systems that complement IonQ’s existing hardware and software stack. The acquisition also provides IonQ with a UK base of operations for future collaborations with leading universities, research institutions, and public-sector partners.
“The acquisition of Oxford Ionics marks a pivotal step for IonQ as we continue to advance more powerful and scalable quantum systems, with unit economics that will underpin standardization on our ecosystem,” said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. “Oxford Ionics’ talented team and intellectual property strengthen our technology and accelerate our roadmap toward fault tolerant quantum computing and broad quantum advantage.”
IonQ plans to integrate Oxford Ionics’ record-breaking ion trap technology, which is manufactured using standard semiconductor chips, with IonQ’s quantum systems to develop high-fidelity quantum architectures optimized for both compute and networking.
“Together, we’ll continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to deliver practical quantum solutions to real-world challenges,”said Dr. Chris Ballance, Co-founder and CEO of Oxford Ionics. “We’re confident that our shared vision of quantum computing will not only be commercially impactful for customers worldwide in the near term, but transformative for society in the long term.”
This acquisition follows a series of strategic business announcements by IonQ that solidify its position at the forefront of quantum innovation, including securing a majority stake in ID Quantique, and acquisitions of Qubitekk, Capella Space, and Lightsynq Technologies.
