IonQ goes quantum shopping: Buys Oxford Ionics for $1.075B

Maryland, US-based IonQ, a company specialising in quantum computing and networking, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Oxford Ionics for $1.075 billion.

IonQ develops high-performance systems based on trapped ion technology to help solve the world’s most complex commercial and research challenges.

Oxford Ionics holds the current world records for fidelity, which measures the accuracy of quantum operations.

“IonQ’s vision has always been to drive real-world impact in every era and year of quantum computing’s growth. Today’s announcement of our intention to acquire Oxford Ionics accelerates our mission to full fault-tolerant quantum computers with 2 million physical qubits and 80,000 logical qubits by 2030,” says Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ.

“We believe the advantages of our combined technologies will set a new standard within quantum computing and deliver superior value for our customers through market-leading enterprise applications,” he adds.

The acquisition will consist of $1.065B in shares of IonQ common stock and approximately $10M in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments and expenses.

The acquisition

The acquisition will bring together IonQ’s quantum compute, application, and networking stack with Oxford Ionics’ ion-trap technology manufactured on standard semiconductor chips.

The combined technologies are expected to deliver reliable quantum computers that increase power, scale, and problem-solving capabilities.

Both companies expect to benefit from each other’s strengths and IonQ’s global resources and customer base.

The combined company expects to build systems with 256 physical qubits at accuracies of 99.99 per cent by 2026 and advance to over 10,000 physical qubits with logical accuracies of 99.99999 per cent by 2027.

Additionally, the combined company anticipates extending its innovation by reaching 2 million physical qubits in its quantum computers by 2030, enabling logical qubit accuracies exceeding 99.9999999999 per cent.

Roadmap 

Oxford Ionics’ team is expected to play a vital role in the combined company’s future.

Founders Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty plan to stay with IonQ after the acquisition, continuing their work on quantum technology in the UK.

De Masi continues, “We are pleased to welcome Oxford Ionics founders Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty, and the rest of the Oxford Ionics team to IonQ. Their groundbreaking ion-trap-on-a-chip technology will accelerate IonQ’s commercial quantum computer miniaturisation and global delivery. Our combined path to millions of qubits by 2030 will help ensure unit economics, scale, and power as quantum computing rapidly evolves.”

The combined company also aims to hire more staff in Oxford to strengthen the UK’s role in quantum computing while maintaining all existing customer relationships, including government partnerships in both the UK and the US.

The company will keep working with the UK National Quantum Computing Centre and the government’s Quantum Missions program.

This initiative, driven by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Innovate UK, aims to develop practical uses for quantum computing in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and defense.

“We’re tremendously excited to work alongside the world-class quantum computing and networking teams at IonQ. Together, we intend to move faster than any other player in the industry to deliver the leading fault-tolerant quantum computers with transformative value for customers,” says the CEO of Oxford Ionics, Dr. Chris Ballance.

“At Oxford Ionics, we have not only pioneered the most accurate quantum platform on the market – we have also engineered a quantum chip capable of being manufactured in standard semiconductor fabs. We look forward to integrating this innovative technology to help accelerate IonQ’s quantum computing roadmap for customers in Europe and worldwide,” adds Ballance.