Background

Quantum computing is back in the media headlines again, thanks to Google recently announcing yet another breakthrough from its ongoing quantum program.

Yet it isn't Google, but IonQ who is the OG of QC. IonQ became the world's very first publicly-traded quantum computing after its SPAC IPO back in 2021.

But quantum computing isn't a universal phrase. This is an innovative, fast-paced field where several different technologies are all seeing the Holy Grail of doing the most accurate and efficient computing to solve the world's most difficult problems.

IonQ's approach is ion trapping, where it traps ytterbium atoms, ionizes them, and then uses electrodes to preserve them in the quantum state that's necessary to perform quantum calculations. This technology is very different from Google's superconductive approach that allows for real-time error correction or from D-Wave Systems more traditional annealing approach that tends to work well for optimization problems.

The key point here is that each quantum technology has its own unique advantages and disadvantages, which typically involve a tradeoff between gate speed and qubit stability.

And while the theoretical discussions about quantum physics were intriguing, it was hard to justify paying 2,000 times trailing sales for what was essentially a moonshot science projects. More recently, IonQ has generated some more practical business momentum, signing the largest contract in its history in a $54 million four-year deal with the US Air Force Research Lab to integrate quantum into its existing infrastructure and systems.

Now with $73 million of future bookings already in place, IonQ is looking to take a quantum leap into what it believes will become an $850 billion addressable market by 2040.