IonQ

IonQ is a quantum computing hardware and software company based in College Park, Maryland. They are developing a general-purpose trapped ion quantum computer and software to generate, optimize, and execute quantum circuits.

IonQ
TypePrivate
IndustryQuantum computing
FoundersChristopher Monroe, Jungsang Kim
Headquarters4505 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20740
Products Trapped ion quantum computation
Websiteionq.co

History

IonQ was co-founded by Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim, professors at The University of Maryland[1] and Duke University,[2] respectively, in 2015,[3] with the help of Harry Weller, a partner at venture firm New Enterprise Associates.[4]

The company is an offshoot of the co-founders’ 25 years of academic research in quantum information science.[3] Monroe's quantum computing research began as a Staff Researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with Nobel laureate David Wineland[5] where he led a team using trapped ions to produce the first controllable qubits and the first controllable quantum logic gate,[6] culminating in a proposed architecture for a large-scale trapped ion computer.[7]

Kim and Monroe began collaborating formally as a result of larger research initiatives funded by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).[8] They wrote a review paper[8] for Science Magazine entitled Scaling the Ion Trap Quantum Processor,[9] pairing Monroe's research in trapped ions with Kim’s focus on scalable quantum information processing and quantum communication hardware.[10]

This research partnership became the seed for IonQ’s founding. In 2015, New Enterprise Associates invested $2 million to commercialize the technology Monroe and Kim proposed in their Science paper.[4]

In 2016, they brought on David Moehring from IARPA—where he was in charge of several quantum computing initiatives[11]—to be the company’s chief executive.[3] In 2017, they raised a $20 million series B, led by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and New Enterprise Associates, the first investment GV has made in quantum computing technology.[12] They began hiring in earnest in 2017,[13] with the intent to bring an offering to market by late 2018.[3][14] In May 2019, former Amazon Prime executive Peter Chapman was named new CEO of the company.[15]

Technology
See also: Trapped ion quantum computer

IonQ’s hardware is based on a trapped ion architecture, from technology that Monroe developed at the University of Maryland, and that Kim developed at Duke.[12]

In November 2017, IonQ presented a paper at the IEEE International Conference on Rebooting Computing describing their technology strategy and current progress. It outlines using a microfabricated ion trap and several optical and acousto-optical systems to cool, initialize, and calculate. They also describe a cloud API, custom language bindings, and quantum computing simulators that take advantage of their trapped ion system's complete connectivity[16]

IonQ and some experts claim that trapped ions could provide a number of benefits over other physical qubit types in several measures, such as accuracy, scalability, predictability, and coherence time.[17][3][18] Others criticize the slow operational times and relative size of trapped ion hardware, claiming other qubit technologies are just as promising.[19]

References
  1. Sickles, Kate. "Monroe, Christopher - UMD Physics".
  2. "Jungsang Kim - Department of Physics". phy.duke.edu.
  3. Castellanos, Sara (26 July 2017). "Venture Firms Back Startup with Novel Twist on Quantum Computing".
  4. Gregg, Aaron (1 January 2017). "Start-up IonQ sees opportunity in still-developing area of quantum computers" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  5. Popkin, Gabriel (1 December 2016). "Scientists are close to building a quantum computer that can beat a conventional one". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal0442.
  6. "Quantum Computing with Ions [Re-Post]".
  7. Kielpinski, D.; Monroe, C.; Wineland, D. J. (June 2002). "Architecture for a large-scale ion-trap quantum computer". Nature. 417 (6890): 709–711. Bibcode:2002Natur.417..709K. doi:10.1038/nature00784. hdl:2027.42/62880. PMID 12066177.
  8. "The future of ion traps". 7 March 2013.
  9. Monroe, C.; Kim, J. (7 March 2013). "Scaling the Ion Trap Quantum Processor". Science. 339 (6124): 1164–1169. Bibcode:2013Sci...339.1164M. doi:10.1126/science.1231298. PMID 23471398.
  10. "Welcome to Prof. Jungsang Kim's MIST Research Group - Multifunctional Integrated Systems Technology". mist.pratt.duke.edu.
  11. "Quantum Leaps - Trajectory Magazine". 3 August 2016.
  12. IonQ. "IonQ Raises $20M Series B Round Led By NEA, GV To Advance Quantum Computing For Commercial Applications". www.prnewswire.com.
  13. Castelvecchi, Davide (3 January 2017). "Quantum computers ready to leap out of the lab in 2017". Nature. 541 (7635): 9–10. Bibcode:2017Natur.541....9C. doi:10.1038/541009a. PMID 28054624.
  14. BlueYard Capital (8 September 2017). "Building a Quantum Computer: David Moehring, IonQ" – via YouTube.
  15. Hacket, Robert (21 May 2019). "Amazon Prime Boss Named CEO of Google-Backed Quantum Computing Startup". www.fortune.com. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  16. "Reconfigurable and Programmable Ion Trap Quantum Computer - IEEE Conference Publication". doi:10.1109/ICRC.2017.8123665. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Monroe, Christopher R.; Schoelkopf, Robert J.; Lukin, Mikhail D. (19 April 2016). "Quantum Connections". Scientific American. 314 (5): 50–57. Bibcode:2016SciAm.314e..50M. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0516-50. PMID 27100255.
  18. Emerging Technology from the arXiv. "The Long-Awaited Promise of a Programmable Quantum Computer".
  19. Monroe, Christopher R.; Schoelkopf, Robert J.; Lukin, Mikhail D. (19 April 2016). "Quantum Connections". Scientific American. 314 (5): 50–57. Bibcode:2016SciAm.314e..50M. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0516-50. PMID 27100255.
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