IonQ’s Superion 256 Platform Selected by Florida International University for Flagship Deployment

FIU students, faculty, visiting scholars and affiliated research centers are slated to gain direct access to the system.

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FIU becomes an IonQ preferred university partner in Florida, securing the state’s first on-premises trapped-ion quantum system to drive research, workforce development, and economic growth.

MIAMI & COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the world’s leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, today announced a contract with Florida International University (FIU), Miami’s top ranked state university. Under the agreement, IonQ will deliver its Superion 256-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer for installation at FIU.

This contract establishes FIU as IonQ’s flagship academic partner in Florida, creating a central hub for quantum research and education across the region. This agreement marks the first sale and deployment of a Superion 256 trapped-ion quantum computer in Florida.

"This key partnership with Florida International University represents a major milestone in expanding direct physical access to IonQ’s industry-leading, high-performance quantum hardware," said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. "By housing our Superion 256 system directly on campus, FIU will lead the region in quantum research and training."

"Having this 256-qubit quantum computer right on campus positions FIU researchers at the forefront of national quantum innovation," said FIU President Jeanette M. Nuñez. "This partnership provides our 1,200 faculty members, 56,000 students, and regional industry partners with direct access to one of the most advanced computing architectures in the world. It also puts the university in a leading position to engage with key federal agencies to advance recently launched quantum initiatives that address many national needs in the areas of sensing, cryptography, commercialization and workforce development.”

FIU maintains an active national research showcase and briefing center in Washington, D.C. with robust engagement among federal agencies, which is expected to support the partnership with Maryland-based IonQ.

The sixth-generation IonQ system features 256 physical trapped-ion qubits. The hardware will be housed in a specialized, secure facility built on FIU’s campus, with installation currently expected in late 2027, following completion of FIU's on-campus data center. Students, faculty, visiting scholars, and affiliated research centers will gain direct access to the IonQ Superion system. Scientific applications and research are expected to span material science, artificial intelligence, logistics, cybersecurity, health, and power grid management.

“The 256 physical qubits system located in Miami will enable our team to run complex computational workflows,” said FIU Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development Andres G. Gil. “They will also train the skilled workforce needed to support Florida’s growing quantum industry by developing new curricula, degree programs, and certificates in quantum computing and collaborating closely with industry partners across South Florida and beyond."

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.

About Florida International University

Florida International University is a Top 50, preeminent public research university with 55,000 students from all 50 states and more than 140 countries, as well as an alumni network of more than 340,000. Located in the global city of Miami, the university offers more than 200 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, including medicine and law. FIU faculty are leaders in their fields and include National Academy members, Fulbright Scholars, and MacArthur Genius Fellows. A Carnegie R1 institution, FIU drives impactful research in environmental resilience, health, and technology and innovation. Home to the Wall of Wind and Institute of Environment, FIU stands at the forefront of discovery and innovation. With a focus on student success, economic mobility and community engagement, FIU is redefining what it means to be a public research university.

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 future performance under our agreement with Florida International University, the expected timing for installation of the hardware provided by IonQ thereunder and the expected uses for and benefits of that hardware. 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260924678593/en/

IonQ Media Contacts:
Cheryl Krauss
cheryl.krauss@ionq.co

Tor Constantino
tor.constantino@ionq.co

IonQ Investor Contact:
investors@ionq.co

Source: IonQ

Key Terms

trapped-ion technical

Trapped-ion refers to a technology that holds charged atoms (ions) in place with electric and magnetic fields and uses their controllable quantum states to store and process information for quantum computing. Think of it as suspending tiny charged beads in a fixed pattern and using their behavior to perform calculations that classical computers struggle with. Investors care because trapped-ion systems are a leading approach to building powerful next‑generation computers, with trade‑offs in speed, accuracy, and scalability that affect commercial viability.

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.

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.