Quantum platform developer IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sandia National Laboratories to pursue the co-design of quantum information science (QIS) technologies for U.S. national security applications. Operating out of Sandia’s Quantum Demonstration Facility in New Mexico, the public-private partnership will align trapped-ion hardware development, silicon photonics integration, and software optimization with mission-relevant government use cases.
The collaboration builds on a historical foundation between the two organizations: Sandia fabricated the original trapped-ion chips utilized in IonQ’s earliest quantum processing units (QPUs). Under the expanded scope of the MOU, IonQ’s hardware and application engineering teams will work alongside Sandia scientists to advance system optimization, device characterization, and testing protocols. A central priority of the initiative is pairing Sandia’s expertise in microfabrication and integrated silicon photonics with IonQ’s QPU architecture to accelerate system scaling and facilitate high-fidelity quantum networking interconnects.
Sandia’s Quantum Demonstration Facility functions as an independent research and commercialization hub, providing third-party verification for technical pathways toward utility-scale quantum computing. By establishing a direct collaborative presence at the New Mexico facility, IonQ expands its geographic footprint into the state’s growing defense and national laboratory quantum ecosystem, supporting federal mandates to maintain domestic leadership across quantum computing, secure networking, and defense infrastructure.
Review the official announcement press release on IonQ Investor here, and examine our previous coverage of IonQ’s acquisition of SkyWater Technology here.
August 5, 2026
