IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Skyloom Global, a U.S.-based provider of high-performance optical communications infrastructure. The acquisition is intended to accelerate IonQ’s full-stack quantum-secure communications and distributed quantum entanglement capabilities by adding high-bandwidth optical link capabilities to its global platform.
Skyloom specializes in Optical Communications Terminals (OCTs) for satellite-to-satellite and satellite-to-ground laser communications, having delivered almost 90 terminals for Space Development Agency (SDA) missions by 2025. Integrating Skyloom’s optical networking systems is expected to boost data throughput by up to 500% and reduce latency for critical applications from many hours to under one hour. These optical links are intended to form the backbone for quantum-secure communications and distributed quantum entanglement infrastructure.
The acquisition follows a series of strategic moves by IonQ, including its majority stake in ID Quantique and the acquisitions of Qubitekk and Capella Space, reinforcing IonQ’s strategy of building a complete stack from quantum compute and quantum sensing to secure quantum communications. IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi noted that the technology expands IonQ’s total addressable market.
Read the full announcement here.
November 17, 2025
