IonQ just keeps buying quantum networking companies. The company is determined to become a leader in quantum networking as it acquired two more companies--Lightsynq and Capella Space--to flesh out its quantum internet roadmap.
The move highlights how the money in quantum computing may revolve around the network over time. After all, there are multiple types of quantum computing systems and at some point we're going to hit the VHS vs. Betamax moment. There are superconducting quantum systems (IBM, Google and Rigetti) as well as trapped ion (IonQ and Quantinuum), neutral atom (QuEra), quantum annealing (D-Wave) and topological (Microsoft).
A quantum network moves and transmits qubits and will be necessary to connect quantum computers. Quantum internet projects have been started by the US, European Union and China that are emphasizing quantum-secure links between sites.
With its first quarter earnings report, IonQ said it was acquiring Lightsynq Technologies, a startup founded by experts in quantum memory with more than 20 patents. IonQ said Lightsynq's technology will help it build repeaters to network quantum systems over longer distances.
IonQ also said it will acquire Capella Space, which has government contracts for top-secret projects, to launch a space quantum key distribution (QKD) network. IonQ is looking to have a quantum network that extends into space.
Those two purchases follow IonQ's acquisitions of Qubitekk and ID Quantique, two companies focused on quantum networking. IonQ also recently inked a memorandum of understanding with Intellian Technologies, a provider of satellite communications antennas and ground gateway technologies. In our 2025 play-by-play of quantum computing developments, IonQ has been clearly busy.
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Terms of all these deals haven't been disclosed, but IonQ is strategically using its balance sheet with $687 million in cash and equivalents to pick up parts and patents to build an integrated quantum system. IonQ reported a first quarter net loss of $32.2 million on revenue of $7.6 million. Most pure play quantum computing companies talk in terms of backlog instead of actual recognized revenue.
On IonQ's first quarter earnings call, Executive Chairman Peter Chapman said the company is focused on its "path to tens of thousands and ultimately millions of qubits is to photonically interconnect qubits across the network to run applications across multiple QPUs acting as one large single quantum computer."
IonQ CEO Niccolo de Masi said:
"Whether on the ground or in space, IonQ solutions are poised to be there and lead. We believe our now near-boundless photonic interconnect scalability provides IonQ customers with the winning quantum computing and internet ecosystem, not just this decade, but we expect for the entire 21st century."
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The networking play
IonQ recently put Jordan Shapiro in charge of networking as President and GM of Quantum Networking. Shapiro joined IonQ in 2020 and was previously a venture capitalist at New Enterprise Associates. Shapiro has spearheaded IonQ's networking shopping spree and will be in charge of developing the roadmap.
Like IonQ's approach with its quantum systems, the company is focused on business value today ahead of quantum supremacy that may take years--some would say decades. The pre-quantum supremacy world revolves around government contracts with the likes of DARPA, hybrid systems with classical high-performance computing, use cases in chemistry, life sciences, finance and engineering, and experimental projects.
While IonQ has a strong balance sheet it is competing with giants including all the hyperscale cloud giants, IBM, which has networked its quantum systems together into an offering, and a bevy of others.
The giants:
- Cisco launches quantum lab, unveils quantum networking chip
- IBM launches Flex Plan for quantum computing, aims to expand use cases
- Microsoft unveils Majorana 1, aims to scale quantum computing
- Google outlines performance of Willow quantum chip, highlights roadmap
- AWS launches Ocelot quantum chip, claims error correction breakthrough
IonQ's de Masi said networking is a way to compete with giants. He said Nvidia's rise provides a blueprint.
"Lightsynq's technology is expected to accelerate IonQ's existing photonic interconnect activities and enable our commercial systems to scale to tens of thousands and eventually millions of qubits. The Lightsynq architecture is uniquely powerful and will underwrite our quantum computing leadership for decades to come.
The parallels are strong, so I would not be surprised if in the fullness of time, Lightsynq becomes as accretive for IonQ, as Mellanox has been for NVIDIA. Equally exciting and importantly, Lightsynq's technology will also power the future quantum internet by allowing repeaters to ultimately be spaced over 100 kilometers apart."
That distance de Masi referenced also highlights how early it is in quantum system development. Nevertheless, IonQ sees itself as a quantum vendor creating an entire ecosystem.
"Quantum networking will naturally be the foundation of the quantum internet, which will be a watershed achievement in creating a worldwide ultra secure communications grid," said Shapiro.
It's early
Chapman explained the quantum networking today doesn't go more than about 20 miles. Lightsynq is part of a plan to build a repeated network that could go more than 100 miles and build from there. Space is also a factor.
"Ultimately, what you need to do and you're seeing this now in China and also the EU, is to build quantum networks in space from satellite to satellite and ultimately from satellite to ground station. And protecting that with the QKD network as well," said Chapman.
He added that IonQ's purchase of ID Quantique gives it access to real world environments since it works with South Korea's SK Telecom. Capella adds the space environment.
However, Chapman said there's a big difference between the real-world and lab. "It's one thing to get it working in a lab, it's another thing to get it working in a busy city with trucks driving over your fiber and all the rest of that," said Chapman. "So all these things are about building out the capability and making sure they work in the real world."
Today, IonQ has four quantum networks running globally for government and commercial customers, said Shapiro.
What about quantum computing?
IonQ's first quarter earnings call was notable because executives didn't talk much about the actual deployments of its quantum computing systems and roadmap. Chapman and de Masi said IonQ can focus on both networking and compute because they're converging.
" Last year, we announced that we were doing quantum networking, but it required two quantum computers to be built. We announced it as a networking project, but we actually built two quantum computers to network the two quantum computers together," said Chapman. "You're pushing the compute side so that you can do the networking."
de Masi said:
"The business's focus on quantum computing remains. We're determined to be the ultimate ecosystem there. We've expanded our ecosystem to do quantum networking, obviously organically and inorganically. The quantum internet requires pretty much all the pieces that we've assembled. You need the nodes to be computers, you need repeaters to have any kind of distance between the nodes, you need QKD to be able to actually send information securely. And you need to be able to do that as an integrated communications network on the ground and in the heavens.
We see growing opportunities in computing and growing opportunities in networking, both short-term, medium-term and long-term."
