UK quantum pioneer goes west

Oxford Ionics, a UK-based pioneer in the development of quantum computers, is to be bought by Maryland-HQ’d quantum computing hardware and software company, IonQ Inc. The definitive purchase agreement puts a price tag of c.£800m on the British business which will be paid for with $1.065bn of the US acquirer’s stock and $10m in cash.

Founded in 2019, Oxford Ionics uses a Trapped Ion approach to the development of quantum computers and has built a team of 80 global experts across physics, quantum architecture, engineering and software. The Cambridge-based start-up raised £30m in a Series A funding in 2023 (see here) and was identified by TMV as one of the players to watch in our Quantum Acceleration Is On The Horizon report published at the start of last year.  The company’s patented Electronic Qubit Control system combines the quantum performance of individual atoms with the scalability and reliability of electronics integrated into silicon chips. Oxford Ionic holds the current world records for fidelity, which measures the accuracy of quantum operations.

IonQ became the first publicly traded, pure-play quantum computing company in 2021. Last year the company generated revenue of $43.1bn and today is valued at around $10bn. The business builds general-purpose trapped ion quantum computers and accompanying software to generate, optimise, and execute quantum circuits. IonQ believes that the Oxford Ionics acquisition will be enable it to develop 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 the following year. 

While the deal looks like a good move for both parties, it is a shame to see yet another promising UK tech company to either fall into foreign ownership or relist from the London Stock Exchange onto US markets. It's a depressing trend with no signs of a let up.

In other quantum-related news, Vodafone and ORCA Computing have announced a collaboration to explore the use of quantum technology in identifying the fastest and most cost-effective routes for upgrading and extending fixed and mobile broadband connections to more customers. The telco will initially assess ORCA’s technology for solving complex optical fibre cable design challenges. Over time, Vodafone expects to use quantum principles more widely when modelling its global network.

Posted by: Duncan Aitchison at 09:17

Tags: acquisition   quantum