IonQ and the University of Cambridge Open the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre at Cavendish Laboratory's Ray Dolby Centre

The partnership supports new academic positions, postdoctoral fellows and PhD students at Cambridge.

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Opening marks the next phase of the university's largest corporate research partnership, with a research portfolio spanning quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the world's leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, and the University of Cambridge have announced the opening of the first-ever university-based IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre. The Centre is located at the Ray Dolby Centre, the new home of the University's Cavendish Laboratory. This initiative brings the University's largest corporate research partnership from agreement to a physical home at one of the world's leading facilities for physics research.

The IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre demonstrates the company’s commitment to quantum innovation and academic research within the United Kingdom. Research at the Centre includes co-development of new quantum network nodes and sensing capabilities with the university, and a strengthening of the existing Cambridge-to-Bristol quantum network. IonQ and the University of Cambridge first announced the partnership on March 11, 2026, supporting advanced research and workforce development for quantum technologies.

“The opening of the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre turns a landmark agreement into a working home for quantum research inside one of the world’s most storied physics laboratories,” said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. “By bringing quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security research together at Cambridge, we are accelerating the timeline between academic discovery and commercial quantum advantage. This is a long-term commitment to the United Kingdom, built for researchers, start-ups, and industry alike.”

The Centre’s nine inaugural research projects will bring together Cambridge researchers and IonQ specialists to advance quantum hardware and explore new applications across science and industry. Selected by a Joint Steering Committee comprising business and scientific leaders from both organizations, the projects combine Cambridge’s research expertise with IonQ’s capabilities in trapped-ion quantum computing, quantum networking, and device engineering.

Experimental projects address key capabilities for building larger quantum systems. One will develop microscopic mirrors designed to collect light from trapped ions more efficiently, laying the groundwork for optical connections between quantum processors.

Computational projects will investigate how quantum algorithms can solve difficult problems in chemistry, materials science, finance, engineering, and medicine. Highlighted research within this group will construct investment portfolios that maximize expected returns at a given level of risk, model how engineering structures respond to forces, and investigate biological networks to identify potential targets for cancer therapies.

The program draws on Cambridge’s Departments of Physics, Engineering, and Computer Science and Technology, the Milner Therapeutics Institute, and Cambridge Judge Business School. Across the projects, students and postdoctoral researchers will gain experience connecting fundamental research with technology development and applications, helping train the next generation of leaders in quantum science and engineering.

“The official launch of the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre is an exciting milestone in our partnership with IonQ, which will help Cambridge and the UK stay at the forefront of the quantum revolution,” said Professor Mete Atatüre, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory. “The announcement of the first round of the funded research projects celebrates the depth and breadth of expertise and talent at Cambridge, and will accelerate our impact in quantum science and engineering.”

IonQ will deploy a Superion 256-qubit quantum computer and an entanglement-distribution quantum network at the University. This quantum technology will support related work involving quantum memory chips and frequency-conversion technologies, as well as provide access to IonQ quantum computers through the IonQ cloud. The on-campus IonQ quantum network will consist of two Quantum Networking Data Centres and three Quantum Networking Nodes. As part of the collaboration, Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, will provide access and computing time for the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) over three years.

"The Centre combines Cambridge's research strength with IonQ's networking, sensing, and security capabilities. It transforms into a facility where new quantum network nodes, sensing techniques, and the intellectual property behind them are developed side by side," said Jordan Shapiro, President, Quantum Platform at IonQ. “That work feeds directly into our platform roadmap, and it gives researchers, partners, and customers a stronger foundation to build on.”

The partnership supports new academic positions, postdoctoral fellows, and PhD students at Cambridge, and aligns with the UK National Quantum Strategy. The Centre also deepens IonQ’s presence in the United Kingdom.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and foundry - delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the Superion, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems. Earlier systems have helped customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve a 20x performance increase over previous quantum solutions and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.

Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations across North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. Our quantum computing services have been available through all major cloud providers since 2021, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.

Note to Investors Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's and the University of Cambridge's partnership, including the products and services to be provided and the technology, innovation, intellectual property and leaders to be developed thereunder and its contributions to the UK's quantum commitment, and the activities to be supported by the IonQ quantum centre. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “pending,” “look forward,” “accelerate,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggest,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “target,” “project,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “forecast,” “confident,” “position” and other similar expressions. These statements are only predictions based on our expectations and projections about future events as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may prove incorrect, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, among others, those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can management assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement we make. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261015515775/en/

IonQ Media Contacts:
Tammy Swanson
tammy.swanson@skywatertechnology.com

Tor Constantino
tor.constantino@ionq.co

IonQ Investor Contact:
investors@ionq.co

Source: IonQ

Key Terms

trapped-ion quantum computing technical

A physical approach to building a quantum computer that uses individual charged atoms (ions) held in place by electromagnetic fields inside a vacuum chamber; each ion encodes a qubit in one of its internal energy states and is manipulated with lasers or microwaves. Quantum logic gates are performed by coupling ions' internal states to their shared motion (collective vibrational modes), so operations on one ion can entangle others; the system requires laser cooling, precise timing, and ultra-high vacuum to maintain long coherence times and high-fidelity gates. As a hardware platform, trapped-ion quantum computing is distinct from other approaches (like superconducting qubits or photonics) and depends on accurate control of trapping fields and optical interactions, which affect scalability and error rates.

qubit technical

A qubit is the basic unit of information used in quantum computers, like a coin that can be heads, tails or both at once until you look; this lets quantum machines process many possibilities simultaneously. For investors, qubits matter because their number, quality and stability determine how powerful a quantum computer can be, affecting which companies might gain an edge in fields such as cryptography, drug discovery, materials design or complex financial modeling.

frequency-conversion technologies technical

Equipment or systems that change the frequency of an electrical supply or signal so it matches the needs of another device or network. Common implementations convert AC to DC and then invert it at a new frequency (or use rotary or solid‑state frequency changers) to run motors at different speeds, link power grids with different operating frequencies, or adapt generators and renewable sources to grid standards. Frequency converters alter waveform characteristics and can introduce harmonics and heat, so they often require filtering, cooling or other ancillary equipment and are distinct from devices that only change voltage or modulate a signal's information content.

two-qubit gate fidelity technical

Two-qubit gate fidelity measures how accurately a quantum computer performs a basic operation that links two quantum bits (qubits). Think of it like the success rate of a two-person handshake that must be precise for a larger task; higher fidelity means fewer errors, better chances of running useful algorithms, and lower cost to correct mistakes. Investors watch it because higher fidelity signals more reliable hardware and faster progress toward commercially valuable quantum computing.