IonQ to acquire SkyWater Technology in $1.8bn deal

IonQ has announced its acquisition of SkyWater Technology successful a cash-and-stock woody valued astatine astir $1.8bn, mounting the signifier for the instauration of a vertically integrated full-stack quantum level company.

SkyWater, a semiconductor foundry based successful the US, volition support its work to existing markets and incorporated IonQ's quantum technologies into its offerings. The institution plans to proceed its engagement successful US exertion infrastructure with facilities successful Minnesota, Florida, and Texas.

It volition proceed to service aerospace, defence, and commercialized markets. SkyWater volition proviso exertion essentials to companies successful fields specified arsenic AI and IoT and connection IonQ’s quantum sensors and networking solutions to its clientele and partners.

Under the agreement, shareholders of the Nasdaq-listed SkyWater volition person $35 per share, combining currency and IonQ stock, taxable to definite conditions. This transaction is acceptable to adjacent successful Q2 oregon Q3 2026, pending regulatory approvals and shareholder consent.

SkyWater CEO Thomas Sonderman said: “As the largest pure-play semiconductor foundry based successful the US, SkyWater is already the spouse of prime for precocious improvement and manufacturing services successful some the nationalist and backstage sectors arsenic quantum computing and manufacturing progressively align.

“Joining forces with IonQ volition accelerate aggregate engineering pathways for next-generation quantum chips, delivering speed, precision, and scale.

“Importantly, SkyWater remains afloat committed to each of our semiconductor foundry customers and volition proceed arsenic the quantum merchant supplier of prime with an adjacent broader acceptable of quantum sensing and quantum networking solutions for each of our customers and partners.”

Through the woody IonQ expects to beforehand its ambitions successful fault-tolerant quantum computing, with SkyWater’s resources enhancing its manufacturing and innovation capabilities.

The combined entity seeks to fast-track investigating of its large-scale quantum processors and bolster its presumption arsenic a supplier of quantum solutions for sectors including government, aerospace, and finance.

Furthermore, the acquisition volition heighten IonQ’s Federal part by providing precocious quantum solutions to the national and defence sectors.

IonQ aims to found a broad US quantum proviso chain, from plan to work upgrades, supporting Department of War initiatives similar the Microelectronics Commons network.

IonQ president and CEO Niccolo de Masi said: “This transformational acquisition enables IonQ to materially accelerate its quantum computing roadmap and unafraid its afloat scalable proviso concatenation domestically.