The price is made up of around $1.07 billion in shares and $10 million in cash.
The Oxford University spin-out and IonQ plan to build a quantum computer with 256 qubits at accuracy of 99.99%next year, 10,000 qubits with logical accuracies of 99.99999% by 2027, and 2 million qubits with logical qubit accuracies exceeding 99.999999999% by 2030.
“Together we intend to move faster than any other player is the industry to deliver the leading fault-tolerant quantum computers with transformative value for customers,“ said Oxford Ionics CEO 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.’
Oxford Ionics says that it holds the current world records for fidelity which measures the accuracy of quantum operations.
The transaction combines IonQ’s quantum compute, application and networking stack with Oxford Ionics’s ion-trap technology manufactured on standard ICs. The combined technologies are expected to deliver quantum computers that increase in power, scale, and problem-solving capabilities.
Both Oxford Ionics founders, Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty, are expected to remain with IonQ after the acquisition is completed, continuing their pioneering work on quantum technology development in the UK. The combined entity also plans to expand its workforce in Oxford to further develop the UK’s position as a leader in quantum computing.
The combined company expects to maintain all existing customer relationships, including government partnerships in both the UK and US. The company also plans to continue working with the UK National Quantum Computing Centre and the government’s Quantum Missions program, driven by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Innovate UK, helping to develop practical quantum computing applications in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and defense.
“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,” said 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.
De Masi continued, “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 miniaturization 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 acquisition of Oxford Ionics follows IonQ’s recent quantum computing and networking momentum, including the recent acquisition of Lightsynq and pending acquisition of Capella.
