Regulatory Approval for Oxford Ionics Acquisition
IonQ has announced regulatory approval from the UK Investment Security Unit (ISU) for the Acquisition of Oxford Ionics. The approval is conditioned upon IonQ agreeing that it will “host current and future generations of Oxford Ionics’ trapped-ion quantum computing hardware in the UK to allow for its independent assessment and validation on request as part of current or future government programmes or contracts and to maintain Oxford Ionics’ science, engineering and infrastructure functions in the UK, including suitably qualified and experienced personnel, tangible and intangible assets and manufacturing capacity related to the development of trapped-ion quantum computing hardware.” The final closure of the deal is expected in the very near future.
Hardware Roadmap
Associated with that IonQ has revealed a new hardware roadmap that shows a goal of developing a quantum processor with 2 million qubits by 2030. Later this year, IonQ will release its Tempo processor which will contain 64 or more qubits and have an Algorithmic Qubit performance metric of #AQ64, a significant increase over the #AQ35 level held by the previous Forte Enterprise machine. IonQ has a Tempo machine working in the lab and from their early measurements they claim that it has a computational space 36 quadrillion times larger than IBM’s current highest performing quantum system
Tempo will also be IonQ’s first processor that uses Barium for the ion. This has been a technology that the company has been working on since 2021. The previous machines used Ytterbium. This change should provide better gate and readout error rates along with the ability to use visible light lasers with increased power levels instead of the current ultraviolet lasers.
A follow-on to the Tempo, slated for 2026, will be an unnamed 256 qubit processor that will incorporate the Oxford Ionics technology. The Oxford Ionics approach provides a significant innovation because it uses electronic signals to control the qubits instead of lasers. The approach has several advantages because it allows them to leverage semiconductor manufacturing technology. They are currently using Infineon as a vendor for this. Also, Oxford Ionics has already demonstrated a two-qubit gate fidelity of 99.97% which one of the best fidelities disclosed in the quantum industry so far. They also indicated that they will be achieving a 99.99% two-qubit fidelity from a forthcoming study and will be providing more details upon publication. Achieving such high two-qubit fidelities will also benefit the usage of error correction codes because they will be able to use fewer physical qubits per logical qubit. The company is projecting that its 2027 processor will contain 10,000 physical qubits to provide 800 logical qubits with an error rate under 10-7. This would be about a 12:1 ratio of physical-to-logical qubits, much smaller than estimates we’ve seen from other companies.
Generations beyond the 256 processor will incorporate quantum networking technology which IonQ recently now possesses due to their recent acquisition of Lightsynq. Key technologies that Lightsynq has developed include quantum memory, integrated photonics approach, and proprietary fiber-to-chip coupling. IonQ stated their their estimated Bill-of-Materials (BOM) cost for a 2 million physical qubits system in 2030 will be under $30 million and provide a significant advantage in power and footprint over other approaches.
Two charts that shows IonQ’s roadmap are shown below.
The company is also making a major push into the quantum networking arena, both terrestrial and in space, through their acquisitions of ID Quantique, Qubitekk, and Capella Space. Overall, IonQ management asserts their belief that they have a 5-year lead over other quantum companies due to the fruits of their internal technology development and the recent acquisitions.
Customer Engagements
During the presentation, the company described several customer engagements including the following:
- Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL): A contract worth over $54.5 million to pioneer enterprise-grade quantum networking.
- AstraZeneca: A collaboration focused on accelerating drug development through enhanced quantum simulations, with a demonstrated 20x faster time-to-solution compared to a previous AWS implementation .
- EPB of Chattanooga: A $22 million partnership to create a Quantum Computing & Networking Hub, making EPB the first utility company to commercially offer quantum services .
- Ansys: A demonstration showcasing a 12% speedup in engineering simulation using a hybrid workflow .
- Hyundai: A partnership to develop quantum solutions for a variety of automotive applications, including fleet routing and logistics.
- ID Quantique (IDQ): IonQ acquired a majority stake in IDQ in April 2025. IDQ provides commercially available Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) products for quantum security.
Financials and Growth
IonQ has demonstrated strong financial growth, with GAAP revenue approximately doubling year-over-year since its IPO. The company projects its 2025 revenue to be in the range of $82 million to $100 million, with a midpoint of $91 million. IonQ states that it is well-capitalized with $1.68 billion in cash and equivalents and no debt, which it plans to use to invest in R&D, scale infrastructure, and build applications.
Conclusion
IonQ ended their analyst day by mentioning the high level of talent they have recruited to join the company and also pointing out that they are the best capitalized pure quantum company in the industry with an ability to raise even more, should the need arise. Overall, it was an upbeat presentation. But, as we always say, the company will need to continue to execute to stay on track with their roadmap because quantum is a very competitive industry.
For more information about the IonQ receiving the regulatory approval for the Oxford Ionics acquisition, you can view a press release posted on their website here as well as a decision statement issued by the UK government here. Also, the slide deck from the presentations made at the 2025 Analyst Day is available here.
September 12, 2025
Leave A Comment