College Park, MD — January 25, 2024

IonQ Achieves Technical Milestone One Year Ahead of Schedule

  • Company achieves #AQ 35 one year ahead of schedule, enabling larger and more sophisticated circuits to be run on one of the world’s most powerful quantum systems

Side view of IonQ Forte EGT (evaporated glass ion trap chip) (Image Courtesy: IonQ)

Side view of IonQ Forte EGT (evaporated glass ion trap chip) (Image Courtesy: IonQ)

COLLEGE PARK, MD - January 25, 2024 - IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), a leader in the quantum computing industry, today announced that it hit its target technical milestone of 35 algorithmic qubits (#AQ) a full year ahead of schedule. This important milestone was achieved on IonQ Forte and leveraged the unique advantages of IonQ’s quantum computers, including high-fidelity trapped ion qubits and the industry’s only all-to-all connected architecture.

At #AQ 35, IonQ’s systems will now be more useful than ever for tackling quantum applications, such as those in quantum machine learning and quantum chemistry.

“Achieving our 2024 technical performance milestone a year early furthers IonQ’s technical leadership in developing the world’s most powerful and accurate commercially available quantum systems,” said Peter Chapman, CEO & President of IonQ. “IonQ is building quantum computing systems that can deliver value to our customers by successfully executing the applications they care about. Each year, we are aggressively delivering against our roadmap and our goal of driving large-scale commercial quantum adoption.”

The company’s performance results were achieved on IonQ’s Forte through hardware and software improvements including increasing the system’s qubit count, improving optical detection hardware and deploying a new, optimized quantum program compiler. Additional technical details are available in a blog post here and a forthcoming research paper. 

IonQ adopted #AQ as a primary technical benchmark and has been laser-focused on optimizing across the full quantum computing stack to attain the ambitious targets laid out in the company’s roadmap. The higher the #AQ a system offers, the more commercial value IonQ can deliver to customers and partners. 

The single-number AQ metric is derived from algorithmic benchmarking protocols established in an independent industry-wide study conducted by the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C). In this benchmark the most complex circuits, in terms of the number of qubits and number of gates, determine the resulting #AQ score. At #AQ 35, IonQ Forte is capable of considering more than 34 billion different possibilities simultaneously. 

International organizations like QuantumBasel have already purchased IonQ’s #AQ 35 system. “IonQ hitting its #AQ 35 target benefits the entire quantum economy as it creates new opportunities for even more complex circuits and algorithms to be conducted,” said Damir Bogdan, CEO of QuantumBasel. “We look forward to utilizing these new capabilities at our uptownBasel innovation campus and exploring breakthroughs in fields such as logistics, finance, pharma, chemistry, and artificial intelligence.”

IonQ’s quantum computers are the only systems available on all three major cloud platforms – Amazon Braket, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as through direct API access. Current customers taking advantage of IonQ’s quantum systems include Airbus, Hyundai Motors, and the United States Air Force Research Laboratory.

To learn more about how you can get started on an IonQ system today, please contact us directly at: https://ionq.com/get-ready.

About IonQ
IonQ, Inc. is a leader in quantum computing that delivers high-performance systems capable of solving some of the world’s largest and most complex commercial and research use cases. IonQ’s current generation quantum computer, IonQ Forte, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems, boasting 35 algorithmic qubits. The company’s innovative technology and rapid growth were recognized in Fast Company’s 2023 Next Big Things in Tech List and Deloitte’s 2023 Technology Fast 500™ List, respectively. Available through all major cloud providers, IonQ is making quantum computing more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.

IonQ Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggests,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “forecast,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to the company’s technology driving commercial advantage in the future, the ability for third parties to implement IonQ’s offerings to increase their quantum computing capabilities, the effect of increased availability of customer support functions, IonQ’s quantum computing capabilities and plans, access to IonQ’s quantum computers, increases in algorithmic qubit achievement, and the scalability and reliability of IonQ’s quantum computing offerings. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: changes in the competitive industries in which IonQ operates, including development of competing technologies; changes in laws and regulations affecting IonQ’s business; IonQ’s ability to implement its business plans, forecasts and other expectations, identify and realize partnerships and opportunities, and to engage new and existing customers. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s filings, including but not limited to those described in the “Risk Factors” section of IonQ’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by IonQ from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and IonQ assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. IonQ does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

Contacts

IonQ Media Contact:

Jane Mazur [email protected]

IonQ Investor Contact:

[email protected]