IonQ to Acquire Oxford Ionics in $1.075 Billion Deal to Push Quantum Boundaries
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IonQ has announced it will acquire Oxford Ionics in a deal valued at $1.075 billion, combining two leaders in quantum computing technology to accelerate the race toward large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum systems. The agreement, which includes $1.065 billion in IonQ common stock and roughly $10 million in cash, is expected to bolster IonQ's roadmap to 2 million physical qubits by 2030.
The acquisition brings together IonQ's end-to-end quantum computing and networking stack with Oxford Ionics' precision ion-trap technology built on standard semiconductor chips. Oxford Ionics currently holds world records for fidelity, a key benchmark of quantum operation accuracy, and is known for integrating high-performance quantum operations with scalable chip-based manufacturing.
"IonQ's vision has always been to drive real-world impact in every era and year of quantum computing's growth," said IonQ CEO Niccolo de Masi. "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."
The combined company anticipates developing systems with 256 physical qubits at 99.99 per cent accuracy by 2026, scaling to over 10,000 qubits with logical accuracy of 99.99999 per cent the following year. By leveraging both firms' core capabilities, IonQ aims to set a new benchmark in computational power, while advancing the commercial viability of quantum systems.
Oxford Ionics' leadership and technical teams are set to remain with IonQ post-acquisition. Founders Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty will continue leading development efforts in the UK. "We're tremendously excited to work alongside the world-class quantum computing and networking teams at IonQ," said Ballance. "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."
IonQ emphasized that existing partnerships in both the U.S. and UK will remain intact. The company also plans to deepen its involvement with the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre and government-led quantum programs supporting defense, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing sectors.
The deal follows IonQ's earlier acquisitions of Lightsynq and the pending purchase of Capella, marking a clear strategy to consolidate core technologies and talent as the company seeks to lead a market that, according to Boston Consulting Group, could generate up to $850 billion in global economic value by 2040.
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