IonQ Acquires Assets of Entangled Networks

Entangled Networks is a Canadian startup company started in February 2021 that specializes in developing hardware and software solutions for connecting multiple quantum processors within a data center to create a larger system. The Quantum Computing Report just posted a podcast last month with two of the founders of this company that provides greater insight into their plans. This fits in well with IonQ's technical strategy because they have long planned to scale their quantum computers using a modular quantum computing approach as shown in the picture below.

Conceptual Diagram Showing Quantum Multicore Architecture using Photonic Interconnects, Credit: IonQ from Q2B 2020

Implementing this is quite challenging. Not only does a company have to developing the necessary hardware components for the interconnect, but it is important to have good optimization software to take a large quantum program and split it up amongst the multiple processing units. A gate operation between different processors will be much slower and lower in fidelity than a gate operation within a single processor. And the multi-processor system may not have the All-to-All connectivity that is available with the qubits in a single ion trap device. The compilation software will try to minimize the use of gate operations between processors in order to improve the system performance, but it can't eliminate the interprocessor operations completely. Entangled Networks appears to have substantial amount of technology for this networking and it should be very helpful as IonQ scales up their systems. IonQ has stated they intend to provide a demonstration of networking two quantum processor together later this year.

This acquisition also gives IonQ another development site in Toronto, Canada. This may be helpful to them in recruiting more engineering talent as there are a number of major Canadian universities that have quantum programs. Additional information about this acquisition can be seen in a press release available on the IonQ website here.

January 10, 2023