IonQ

Leading trapped-ion quantum computing company pursuing fault-tolerant systems. - Aggressively consolidating quantum ecosystem through $3B+ acquisition spree; pending $1.8B SkyWater deal targets Q2-Q3 2026 close

D-Wave Quantum closed its $550 million acquisition of Quantum Circuits in January 2026, bringing Yale's breakthrough dual-rail qubit technology under one roof with the world's leading quantum annealing platform. It's the latest move in a nine-month consolidation spree that saw IonQ spend $1.08 billion on Oxford Ionics in June 2025, announce a landmark $1.8 billion SkyWater Technology acquisition in January 2026, and complete multiple strategic purchases to build a vertically integrated quantum platform. Quantinuum filed for a $20 billion IPO, and at least four quantum startups announced SPAC mergers worth over $3 billion combined.

Updated Feb 17

Publicly-traded quantum computing company using trapped ytterbium and barium ion qubits. - Commercializing trapped-ion quantum systems

Quantum computers can already outperform classical supercomputers on specific tasks. Google's Willow chip solved a problem in five minutes that would take today's fastest machines 10 septillion years, and in October 2025 demonstrated the first verifiable quantum advantage with its Quantum Echoes algorithm—13,000 times faster than supercomputers. But scaling from today's 100-qubit systems to the million-qubit machines needed for real-world applications requires control hardware that doesn't exist yet. Current laser control systems are tabletop-sized, power-hungry, and impossible to replicate thousands of times over.

Updated Dec 28, 2025