What the business is
Trapped-ion quantum computing company, public via a SPAC in late 2021, selling the IonQ Aria and Forte systems
The bet
Owning quantum networking expertise and software tools will speed up IonQ's system performance and let it connect quantum computers
Starting capital
Price undisclosed; Entangled Networks never announced an institutional round and was backed by OurCrowd
How it started
IonQ went public via a SPAC in late 2021. Entangled Networks was a Toronto startup helping industrial and academic users build and optimise solutions spanning multiple quantum processors using specialised networking techniques.
What happened
Shortly after signing a $13.4M contract with the US Air Force Research Lab, IonQ announced its first acquisition. Its CEO Peter Chapman said IonQ would gain quantum architecture experts and software tools it intends to use for substantial speed-ups in system performance, plus an IonQ Canada presence. IonQ's flagship Aria offered 25 algorithmic qubits, and the next-generation Forte up to 32.
How it ended up
IonQ said its quantum networking technology was under development and it expected to show an early version connecting two quantum computers in 2023. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
What has to be true
Multi-processor networks will likely be needed to achieve quantum computing's promises
Entangled Networks had experts in quantum architecture and relevant software tools
The deal gave IonQ a foothold in Canada
The industry, including Amazon, was beginning to focus on quantum networking
What can be applied
IonQ bought a small team and tools instead of building networking in-house, a bet that linking machines will matter before single machines get much bigger.
Aftermath
As of 2023-01-10 IonQ's quantum networking technology was still in development, with an early two-computer demo expected in 2023. The acquisition price was undisclosed.
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