Partnership expands IonQ’s UK presence, accelerates IP generation, brings IonQ’s world-class quantum networking capabilities, and its forthcoming 256-qubit system to Cambridge as well as its quantum sensing and quantum security capabilities
COLLEGE PARK, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the leading quantum company, today announced a landmark agreement with the University of Cambridge to establish the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre. The collaboration is designed to accelerate quantum research commercialization, expand IonQ’s intellectual property portfolio, and deepen the company’s commitment to the United Kingdom’s quantum ecosystem.
As part of the initiative, the parties intend to deploy IonQ’s 6th-generation, chip-based, 256-qubit system on campus and provide access to IonQ’s quantum cloud, supporting advanced research and workforce development across quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security. The partnership will generate significant innovation and intellectual property to be shared under established licensing terms. The structure of the agreement is designed to align academic research incentives with commercial outcomes and long-term industry impact.
“This historic agreement with Cambridge deepens IonQ’s commitment to the United Kingdom and accelerates our technology platform with novel research at one of the world’s most storied physics powerhouses,” said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. “By establishing the IonQ Quantum Innovation Centre, we are strengthening the bridge between academic discovery and commercial quantum advantage. We believe this partnership will contribute meaningfully to the UK’s commitment to advancing scalable quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security.”
“We’re proud that Cambridge is at the heart of the UK’s next computing revolution,” said Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. “This new and ambitious partnership is the first of its kind for a UK university. It’s not just a new facility for Cambridge — it’s one for the whole of the UK, and it will develop not only exciting new technologies but also the UK’s next generation of leaders in quantum science.”
The collaboration also aligns with the United Kingdom’s broader strategy to accelerate quantum innovation and commercialization. The initiative complements national efforts such as the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme, the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), and commercialization initiatives supported by Innovate UK, which aim to translate academic breakthroughs into commercial technologies. The University of Cambridge also plays a central role in the country’s quantum ecosystem, participating in four of the UK’s five national quantum technology hubs that connect leading universities, industry partners, and government laboratories. Cambridge has further emerged as a leader in quantum networking research, including development of a large-scale fiber-based testbed linking Bristol and Cambridge—one of the longest experimental quantum communication networks in the United Kingdom.
Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory—associated with 36 physicists who won Nobel Prizes in that field, of the University’s 126 Nobel Prize laureates—remains one of the world’s leading centers for physics research. Its legendary innovators include James Clerk Maxwell who was the first Cavendish Professor of Physics1 and first to prove that light, electricity, and magnetism work together as “electromagnetic waves2;” as well as Ernest Rutherford who discovered the architecture of the atom3 and is widely regarded as the “Father of Nuclear Physics4.”
The new IonQ quantum center is expected to support collaborative research programs, academic engagement, talent development initiatives and industry-facing events, while creating a structured pathway for translating foundational research into commercial applications.
Research areas include quantum hardware for computing, networking, sensing, and security, and quantum applications for chemistry, materials science, optimization, security, and advanced communication protocols – all areas aligned with IonQ’s roadmap of critical quantum technologies.
About IonQ
IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and merchant supplier – delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the forthcoming IonQ Tempo, will be the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results 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 in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Toronto, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, 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 future of the Company’s and 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 center. 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.
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2 https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/infocom/Ideas/electric.html
3 https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/ernest-rutherford
Contacts
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