IONQ acquires nearly $1.1 billion in British quantum startup Oxford Ionics

IONQ has acquired UK Quantum Startup Oxford Ionics in a deal of just under $1.1 billion, marking one of the biggest moves ever in the quantum computing space. This was the second biggest M&A move announced Monday, driving Qualcomm’s $2.4 billion acquisition to expand in AI data centers.

According to the announcement, the acquisition will combine IONQ’s existing quantum hardware and software expertise with Oxford Ionics’ semiconductor chip technology. the goal? Building more powerful systems and locking enterprise customers as the market starts to heat up. IONQ shares rose about 4% following the news.

“We believe that the benefits of our combined technology will set new standards within quantum computing and provide superior value to our customers through market-leading enterprise applications,” IONQ CEO Niccolo de Masi said in the release.

The transaction is expected to close later this year. It consists of $1.065 billion in IONQ shares and approximately $10 million in cash.

Once acquired, IONQ is expected to reach an ambitious milestone. By 2026, over 10,000 physical Qubits by 2027, and 2 million physical Qubits by 2030, targeting very high levels of reliability with Nine stripes.

This move is because interest in quantum computing will hit new gears. Microsoft and Alphabet have recently promoted chip breakthroughs, with investors watching closely as companies compete to build machines that can tackle problems far beyond the scope of classic computers.

The CEO of IONQ has not kept his ambitions a secret and told CNBC he hopes the company will become a “800-pound gorilla” in the quantum world.

IONQ, published on SPAC in 2021, is down about 6% per year. But zooming out, it’s one of the bigger comeback stories in the market. The share has increased by more than 400% compared to this period last year.

Oxford Ionics was founded in 2019 by Dr. Chris Balance and Dr. Tom Harty. The company has grown into a team of 80 global experts spanning physics, quantum architecture, engineering and software.

Supported by investors such as Bravos, Oxford Science Enterprises, Lansdown Partners, Prosos Ventures, 2XN and Arm co-founder Hermannhauser, Oxford Ionics made massive commercial advances in 2024.

The company also holds world records with three most important quantum benchmarks. Single and 2-kit gate fidelity, and quantum state preparation and measurement (SPAM).