• IonQ has acquired a number of companies recently, including SkyWater Technology for $1.8bn
• The move creates a first-of-its-kind vertically integrated quantum platform company 
• It also strengthens US domestic manufacturing in the global quantum ecosystem
• It’s a win-win situation, boosting IonQ’s position as a trusted US government partner…
• … while permitting SkyWater to continue as a strategically important semiconductor foundry 

M&A action in the quantum technology sector continues apace with the recent news that IonQ is buying SkyWater Technology (and its all-important semiconductor fab) in a $1.8bn cash and stock deal as part of its plan to create a vertically integrated full-stack US-based quantum platform company.

That’s not all – IonQ has also announced the acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, of Seed Innovations, a Colorado-based software and technology R&D firm that specialises in helping government bodies and enterprises to “address complex challenges”. And it has completed the previously announced purchase of Skyloom Global, a “developer of lightwave-optics technology for secure, high-performance communications”, based in Broomfield, Colorado. 

But it’s the acquisition of SkyWater that looks like the game changer. 

IonQ, based in College Park, Maryland, is a quantum computing hardware and software company specialising in the development and manufacture of trapped-ion quantum computers. SkyWater Technology, of Bloomington, Minnesota, is a “pure-play” semiconductor engineering and fabrication foundry: It claims to be the only US-owned pure-play silicon foundry, serving companies in quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum security and quantum sensing.

Unlike those many quantum companies that are working to exploit superconducting qubits – the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing that is analogous to a 0 or 1 bit in classical computing – IonQ employs naturally occurring, identical and stable ionised ytterbium atoms as qubits. The ions are trapped in 3D space via highly specialised chips, and lasers are used to manipulate their states. IonQ claims its general-purpose trapped ion quantum devices and systems provide higher accuracy and lower error rates than superconducting qubits and, as you might expect, adds that the acquisition of SkyWater “marks a major milestone for the US quantum ecosystem”.

Under the terms of the buyout, SkyWater stockholders will be paid $15 in cash and $20 worth of IonQ stock per share. As things stand, SkyWater shareholders are “projected to own” between 4.4% and 6.7% of the merged entity.

Thomas Sondermann, SkyWater’s CEO, stated: “As the largest pure-play semiconductor foundry based in the US, SkyWater is already the partner of choice for advanced development and manufacturing services in both the public and private sectors as quantum computing and manufacturing increasingly align. Joining forces with IonQ will accelerate multiple engineering pathways for next-generation quantum chips, delivering speed, precision and scale.” 

He added: “Importantly, SkyWater remains fully committed to all of our semiconductor foundry customers and will continue as the quantum merchant supplier of choice with an even broader set of quantum sensing and quantum networking solutions for all of our customers and partners.”

IonQ chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi commented: “This transformational acquisition enables IonQ to materially accelerate its quantum computing roadmap and secure its fully scalable supply chain domestically. With secure, US-based design, packaging and chip fabrication… IonQ will benefit from vertical integration across our increasingly interlinked quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum security, and quantum sensing applications for land, sea, air and space.”

The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously agreed to the takeover, but shareholder and regulatory approval is still to be granted. 

Once the acquisition is completed, probably in the second or third quarter of this year, SkyWater will become a subsidiary of IonQ but will keep its well-known name and “retain operational independence”. (We’ll see how long that state of affairs lasts once the takeover has bedded in.) 

Bringing it all back home… eventually

What is particularly interesting about the deal is that its intent chimes nicely with the Trump administration’s policy to ensure that, given the febrile state of international geopolitics, strategically important communications and computing devices and equipment, be they quantum or classical devices, should be “brought home” and manufactured within the continental US. 

The merger of SkyWater with IonQ is an example of what might happen with other high-tech companies. The deal should result in IonQ and SkyWater being able to fast-track the testing of large-scale quantum processors and further cement the new entity’s place as a provider of quantum solutions for sectors including the US government, aerospace and finance. SkyWater’s contribution will enhance IonQ’s Federal division by boosting the provision of advanced quantum solutions to the federal and defence sectors.

IonQ is determined to establish a comprehensive US quantum supply chain, running the gamut from design to service upgrades. This will support US Department of War initiatives, such as the Microelectronics Commons network, the $2bn government-funded initiative to establish eight regional innovation hubs to accelerate US domestic “lab-to-fab” prototyping and strengthen the semiconductor supply chain. It connects academia, industry and government to develop technologies, such as AI, 5G/6G and, of course, quantum computing. 

The current US administration’s approach is underpinned by the Chips and Science Act of 2022, legislation that currently is providing $52.7bn of funding to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research and workforce development, with the aim of reducing reliance on foreign supply chains, and particularly on China.

IonQ’s acquisition of SkyWater is the latest evidence that the company is determined to continue its long-term M&A strategy via which to deepen and widen its presence in quantum computing. IonQ also spent big in September 2025 when it completed the purchase of the UK-based quantum computing company Oxford Ionics for $1.07bn, the highest-valued spin-out to date from the UK’s University of Oxford.

IonQ’s strategic goal here is to integrate Oxford Ionics’ “trap-on-a-chip” technology (that enables high-performance quantum computing in standard semiconductor fabs) and increase its roadmap to provide 10,000-plus qubits by 2027 and millions of them by 2030. Also, in September last, IonQ paid $390m for Vector Atomic, a California-headquartered provider of quantum sensors for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) applications in an all-stock deal.

Then, in early December last year, IonQ revealed that, working through its ID Quantique subsidiary, it had expanded its presence in Europe and is partnering with the Slovak Academy of Science to increase the security and resilience of Slovakia’s First National Quantum Communication Network. The project is defined as “a strategic milestone in fortifying the digital sovereignty of the EU”. 

And let’s not forget that 11 months ago, back in February 2025, TelecomTV reported that IonQ was working with the South Korean operator, SK Telecom (SKT), on quantum-safe networking development efforts. 

It seems likely that barring a catastrophic bubble-burst in the quantum computing industry worldwide, we shall see IonQ expand again quite soon.

– Martyn Warwick, Editor in Chief, TelecomTV