The acquisition links advanced quantum computing with domestic chip manufacturing serving both government and commercial customers.
IonQ has agreed to acquire US based chip manufacturer SkyWater Technology in a cash and stock deal valued at about $1.8 billion, marking a strategic push toward tighter control of the quantum hardware supply chain.
The companies said the transaction positions IonQ to become a vertically integrated quantum platform company, combining trapped ion quantum computing with domestic chip manufacturing, packaging, and testing. The deal is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
IonQ said owning manufacturing capabilities will help it accelerate the transition of quantum systems from research environments to commercial scale infrastructure. SkyWater’s foundry services are expected to reduce wafer iteration times, enable parallel prototyping, and speed functional testing across IonQ’s technology roadmap.
Chief executive Niccolo de Masi said the acquisition strengthens IonQ’s ability to design, fabricate, package, and deploy quantum systems entirely within the United States, supporting applications across computing, networking, security, and sensing for land, sea, air, and space.
The company also highlighted implications for fault tolerant quantum development, claiming the combined organisation could advance testing of its planned 200,000 qubit processors in 2028, targeting more than 8,000 high fidelity logical qubits.
Beyond commercial goals, the firms framed the deal as supporting US supply chain resilience and national security. SkyWater holds DMEA Category 1 Trusted Accreditation for defence related microelectronics manufacturing, which IonQ said would strengthen its federal business.
