IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) stock gained on Monday premarket after it announced that it has agreed to acquire Oxford Ionics for $1.075 billion, which will consist of $1.065 billion in shares of IonQ common stock and approximately $10 million in cash.
The transaction will combine IonQ’s quantum computing, application, and networking stack with Oxford Ionics’ ion-trap technology manufactured on standard semiconductor chips.
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The company said in a press release that the combined technologies will likely deliver innovative, reliable quantum computers that increase in power, scale, and problem-solving capabilities.
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The combined company expects to build systems with 256 physical qubits at accuracies of 99.99% by 2026 and advance to over 10,000 physical qubits with logical accuracies of 99.99999% by 2027. The combined company anticipates extending its innovation by reaching 2 million physical qubits in its quantum computers by 2030, enabling logical qubit accuracies exceeding 99.9999999999%.
According to Boston Consulting Group, the quantum computing market can generate up to $850 billion of global economic value by 2040.
Both Oxford Ionics founders, Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty, will likely remain with IonQ after the acquisition. The combined entity also plans to expand its workforce in Oxford to develop further the UK’s position as a leader in quantum computing.
The combined company expects to maintain all existing customer relationships, including government partnerships in the UK and US. It also plans to continue working with the UK National Quantum Computing Centre and the government’s Quantum Missions program, driven by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Innovate UK, to help develop practical quantum computing applications in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and defense.
The acquisition of Oxford Ionics follows IonQ’s recent momentum in quantum computing and networking, including the recent acquisition of Lightsynq and the pending acquisition of Capella.
IonQ held $697.1 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31, 2025. The stock has surged 375% in the last 12 months.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer said IonQ was “too speculative” for him in May. “It is so high, and it’s also losing so much money,” he had said.
Price Action: IONQ shares are trading higher by 3.61% to $40.42 premarket at last check Monday.
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