COLLEGE PARK, MD - October 3, 2024 - IonQ, a leader in the quantum computing industry, announced it has achieved the next milestone on the path towards scaling its quantum systems – demonstrating remote ion-ion entanglement. Building off the ion-photon entanglement achievement announced in February, this demonstration announced in September showcases the second out of four significant milestones required to develop photonic interconnects – a foundational step towards quantum networking and a core component of IonQ’s scaling strategy.

IonQ’s world-class R&D team entangled two trapped ion qubits from separate trap wells using entangled photons to achieve these results. The IonQ team achieved remote entanglement by developing a system to collect photons from two trap wells and routing them to a single detection hub. This critical “point-to-point” step established a quantum communication link – an essential piece in scaling quantum systems. While IonQ has always intended to implement photonic interconnects in its systems, never before has any company demonstrated the ability to bring this technology to an integration stage within a commercially available, enterprise-grade quantum computer. More details about IonQ’s latest milestone are available in the blog post here.

“IonQ’s north star remains scalability at high performance, and the progress we’ve made towards photonic interconnects ensures our customers will have access to large quantum systems capable of tackling the most complex problems,” said Peter Chapman, President & CEO, IonQ. “We’re consistently making significant headway on our technical roadmap, and customers across academia and business recognize the unique value IonQ’s systems bring as we near the point of commercial quantum advantage.”

“IonQ’s unique architecture and technology relies on scaling qubits within a single ion trap and then networking multiple traps together to achieve commercial quantum advantage,” said Dr. Björn Flatt, Head of Emerging Technologies, IonQ. “With our latest achievements, we are now focused on the next phase for achieving scale – swapping ion-ion entanglement to the QPU. We are committed to pushing the boundaries on this technology and bringing photonic interconnects to a technical readiness where they can be integrated in commercially available quantum computers.”

IonQ is making rapid progress on its journey towards unlocking massive scale via modularity and photonic interconnects. IonQ has made technological and architectural choices by embracing a practical path that balances three core pillars required for commercial advantage: Performance, Scale, and Enterprise-Grade capabilities. Governments, global business enterprises, and academic institutions worldwide trust IonQ to deliver fast, accurate, and accessible quantum computers that open new opportunities for every industry.