Highlights:

  • IonQ Inc. revealed recently that it has purchased Entangled Networks Ltd., a business that develops networking technologies for interconnecting quantum computers, for an undisclosed sum.
  • IonQ provides three distinct quantum computers with differing capabilities.

IonQ Inc. revealed recently that it has purchased Entangled Networks Ltd., a startup that develops networking technologies for interconnecting quantum computers, for an undisclosed sum.

IonQ, registered on the New York Stock Exchange, creates quantum computers using trapped ion technology. The method uses ionized atoms to implement qubits, the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers. The business employs lasers to encode information into these atoms, do computations, and retrieve the outcomes of the processing.

IonQ provides three distinct quantum computers with differing performance capabilities. The qubits of the device are implemented on a specialized chip called a linear ion trap, which operates within an enclosure cooled nearly to absolute zero. The container protects the quantum computers from external interference that might result in processing mistakes.

Aria is the name of the company’s most sophisticated quantum computer. According to the Algorithmic Qubits (AQ) speed measure, Aria is allegedly the fastest commercial quantum computer available on the market. Customers may access Aria via the Azure public cloud platform from Microsoft Corp.

Aria utilizes a single quantum processor. In the future, IonQ intends to construct a more complex system with multiple quantum processors. The company’s acquisition of Entangled Networks is to enhance this endeavor.

Entangled Networks, located in Toronto, develops technologies for interconnecting quantum computers. The firm has developed a hardware component, termed as an optical connection, that allows quantum processors to coordinate their operations. It also provides software that promises to ease various related computing tasks.

The company’s software portfolio includes the MultiQopt compiler. A compiler is a program that converts the software code of developers into executable programs or, in the case of MultiQopt, executable apps that can operate on several quantum processors. In addition to transforming code into apps, the technology also offers performance enhancements to accelerate processing.

Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon through which the qubits of several quantum processors must be linked or entangled for them to be connected. When specific features of an entangled qubit are assessed, the associated second qubit also changes. This transformation is instantaneous.

Due to the instantaneous nature of some computing processes involving entangled qubits, quantum computers may rapidly do certain computations. Consequently, it is predicted that future large-scale quantum machines may not be able to perform difficult computations for even the most powerful conventional supercomputer.

Following the acquisition, the Entangled Networks team will continue to develop quantum interconnect technologies and compilers, as per IonQ. IonQ intends to leverage the startup’s software to deliver “substantial” hardware performance enhancements. Later this year, the business plans to launch a prototype technology for connecting two quantum processors as part of its research program.

Peter Chapman, Chief Executive Officer of IonQ, said, “Partnering with Entangled Networks furthers our goal of making IonQ the world’s best-performing quantum computing company. In acquiring the Entangled Networks assets, IonQ will benefit from not only some of the top experts in quantum architecture, but also from software tools that we intend to use to drive substantial speed-ups in our system performance.”

IonQ is among the businesses that are creating multichip quantum systems. Late in 2021, Rigetti and amp; Co. Inc. unveiled the Aspen-M, an 80-qubit processor comprised of two independent chips. Recently, IBM Corporation has designed a quantum computer container to integrate quantum processors into a single system.