IonQ Says It Achieves ‘Landmark’ Result. Where the So-Called Nvidia of Quantum Computing Goes Next.

Quantum computing pure play IonQ said it was the first to demonstrate 99.99% two-qubit gate performance. (COURTESY IONQ)

Key Points

• IonQ announces it achieved over 99.99% fidelity in a quantum computing experiment.
• IonQ plans to scale to millions of qubits by 2030 through networking multiple quantum systems, rather than increasing qubits on a single chip.

IonQ claimed Tuesday to have achieved a “landmark result” in quantum computing, saying it set the highest two-qubit gate performance in history.

IonQ said in a press release it achieved over 99.99% fidelity in its latest experiment. To break that down, each quantum gate operation has a calculated ideal result as well as an actual result. Fidelity is scored between 0% and 100%, with 100% fidelity meaning the gate works exactly as intended.

Qubits, meanwhile, are the basic units of information that encode data in a quantum machine, analogous to bits in traditional computers. A gate operation manipulates the quantum states of these qubits to perform calculations.

It’s a finicky science. As qubits are sensitive to disturbances in the environment that could impact the performance of a quantum system, high fidelity is key. IonQ’s result, at face value, is a major milestone. But as with any purported achievement, it’s worth taking it with a grain of salt.

The technical papers detailing the result weren’t peer-reviewed; rather, they were uploaded to arXiv, a research-sharing platform from Cornell University used for preprints, or drafts of manuscripts that have yet to be formally published in a journal.

As experts in the field haven’t evaluated the researchers’ claims and methodology, this opens the results up to increased scrutiny. Regardless, IonQ asserted that it had surpassed a previous record of 99.97% fidelity set in 2024 by Oxford Ionics. In fact, the latest results relied on technology that was absorbed into IonQ’s portfolio through the acquisition of Oxford Ionics in June.

Like previous demonstrations, including the experiment that led to D-Wave Quantum’s claims of quantum supremacy earlier this year, the research was conducted on a smaller scale. It remains to be seen how it will translate to a scalable, commercial quantum computer.

IonQ itself conceded that the “world record” result was demonstrated on prototypes in its research and development labs, which will form the basis for a 256-qubit quantum system that will be demonstrated in 2026.

However, IonQ maintains that it’s on track to scale up toward millions of qubits by 2030. It plans to do this through networking, or linking physical quantum systems together, rather than piling more qubits onto a chip—a tactful approach, seeing as a higher number of qubits typically correlates to more errors.

“We will scale from hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, and eventually millions of qubits,” CEO Niccolo de Masi said in an interview with Barron’s in May. “And we have the heft in the ecosystem and the partners to do it.”

The latest results are certainly a step toward building a scalable machine, and IonQ has so far been consistent with its roadmap. It’s easy to dismiss leadership as too optimistic, including de Masi’s claims from earlier this year that the company would become “the Nvidia player” in quantum computing, a title that has stuck.

IonQ’s focus on networking could prove to be a practical way to scale up quantum computers and break the technology out of the lab.

“We have been in this quantum networking business for quite some time,” de Masi told Barron’s earlier this year. Strategic acquisitions of companies in the quantum networking space like Lightsync will help the company realize its goal of building bigger systems, and sooner.

According to its CEO, the company aims to double its revenue every year. So far, IonQ seems to be meeting or surpassing that goal.

Revenue has steadily ticked upward from $2.1 million in 2021, IonQ’s first year as a publicly traded company, to $43.1 million in 2024, up from $22 million a year prior. IonQ is set to report third-quarter results on Nov. 5.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com