IonQ Demonstrates World-First Quantum Memory-Enhanced Interconnect for Distributed Quantum Applications

The platform has two announced commercial sales, alongside hardware testing that exceeded the previous trapped-ion interconnect record.

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• Photonic interconnect generates more than 1,000 quantum connections per second between a trapped ion qubit and a silicon vacancy quantum memory.
• That entanglement rate is fast enough to support distributed quantum computing and other use cases.

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the world’s leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, today announced the achievement of entanglement rates above 1,000 per second (1 kHz) between a trapped ion qubit and a solid-state memory, through a photonic interconnect. Entanglement is the quantum connection that lets separate systems work together, and it is the essential ingredient for networking quantum computers. While the trapped ion qubit sets the standard for qubit coherence, the solid-state quantum memory has unmatched efficiency coupling to light. Their juxtaposition is the best of both worlds, demonstrating the fastest quantum interconnect rate between qubits of any platform.

“IonQ has crossed a pivotal milestone for memory enhanced quantum interconnects, achieving more than 1,000 entanglement events per second,” said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. “Classical data centers achieved massive scale by connecting specialized processors, memory, and networks. Quantum systems will scale in much the same way. This breakthrough addresses a critical interconnect bottleneck and advances IonQ’s roadmap to build the networked quantum data centers of the future.”

A technical paper presents results from real-world hardware testing of an end-to-end link between a trapped ion system and a silicon vacancy (SiV) qubit, building on IonQ’s SiV quantum memory platform. IonQ’s demonstration achieves rates more than four times faster than the previous record¹ for trapped ions, held by IonQ co-founder Chris Monroe’s research group at Duke University, also a collaborator on the paper.

“IonQ’s efforts in quantum interconnects go back over a decade, to the founding of the company. Moving qubits through photons will be necessary in any large-scale quantum computer, and this demonstration sets the foundation for some amazing work to come,” said Monroe, Chief Scientist at IonQ and Gilhuly Family Presidential Distinguished Professor at Duke University.

“This work shows that a photonic quantum interconnect need not be a bottleneck for distributed quantum computing,” said Mihir Bhaskar, IonQ SVP and GM of Quantum Technologies at SkyWater. “Our technology can interface with almost any qubit type, so we see this unlocking a wide range of opportunities across multiple hardware modalities, from modular computing to networked sensing and beyond.”

This quantum memory and interconnect approach is also driving IonQ’s work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) HARQ program, which seeks to develop high-speed quantum interconnects compatible with multiple computing qubit types. While this latest demonstration used trapped ion systems, the underlying architecture is expected to be compatible with multiple qubit approaches. This may include neutral atoms and superconducting systems with transducers (devices that convert microwave signals into light).

IonQ’s memory and interconnect platform is likewise ramping up commercially, with the first commercial sale to the University of Maryland announced in April, and a second system sale to SDT in South Korea, announced in September.

Additional technical details can be found in the arXiv preprint.

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.

IonQ 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 our research findings and their future applications, including in defense, critical infrastructure and environmental monitoring. 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,” “become,” “on track,” “ensure,” “ongoing” 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, or SEC, and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 to be filed with the SEC. 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.

References:

1. O’Reilly et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 090802 (2024) 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261009368831/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

photonic interconnect technical

A photonic interconnect is a way of sending data using light instead of electrical signals, typically through tiny optical components and fibers that link chips, circuit boards, or entire servers. It matters to investors because using light can move much larger amounts of data faster and with less energy than traditional wiring, like upgrading from a busy highway to a high-speed rail line; companies that adopt or supply this tech can lower operating costs and enable faster computing services, making them potentially more competitive.

trapped ion qubit technical

A trapped ion qubit is a quantum bit encoded in the internal energy states of an electrically charged atom (ion) that is held in place by electromagnetic fields inside a vacuum chamber. Quantum logic operations and state readout are performed by applying precisely tuned laser or microwave pulses that change the ion’s internal state or couple multiple ions via their shared motion; maintaining these qubits requires cooling, ultra‑high vacuum, and an ion trap (e.g., a Paul or Penning trap). A practical consequence is that trapped ion qubits typically exhibit long coherence times and high-fidelity gates but require complex optical and vacuum hardware, which affects how systems scale and are engineered.

silicon vacancy technical

A silicon vacancy is a point defect in a crystalline material where a silicon atom is missing from its regular lattice site. That missing atom changes the local electronic and atomic structure, creating energy states that can trap charge, scatter carriers, alter conductivity or optical properties, and in some crystals (e.g., diamond) form well‑defined color or quantum centers; the term describes the absent-atom defect itself, not any specific device or application built from it.