IonQ Fortifies Quantum Leadership with Groundbreaking Patents, Surpassing 1,000 Total IP Assets

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 20, 2025--

IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the leading commercial quantum computing and quantum networking company, today announced significant advancements in its intellectual property portfolio. This milestone is highlighted by the issuance of new U.S. patents that further solidify its technological advantage in trapped-ion quantum computing. These new patents contribute to IonQ’s rapidly expanding IP estate, which now totals over 1,000 licensed, owned, or controlled patents as well as patent applications.

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"IonQ’s robust and growing portfolio of patents is a direct result of the strategy set forth years ago, which entails developing and owning quantum technologies across multiple industries and applications," said Niccolo de Masi, Chairman and CEO of IonQ. "These patents position IonQ to continue to develop scalable, high-performance, cost effective systems that accelerate the timeline for unparalleled commercial quantum advantage."

IonQ has made deliberate, strategic technological and architectural choices to uniquely balance the core elements of commercial advantage: performance, scale, and enterprise-grade capabilities. 1 Its most recent patent grants further build upon IonQ’s existing technical achievements, which include quantum circuit optimization, improved gate operations, reduced noise, error mitigation techniques, and multi-beam improvements. 1

IonQ's latest patents underscore the company’s commitment to advancing the fundamental building blocks of quantum systems, from precision control to scalable architectures. Two exemplary patents highlight the company's innovative prowess in trapped-ion quantum computing and quantum networking.

Secure Long-Distance Quantum Networking: This patent enables portable quantum memory packages to store and connect photons to help build secure, long-distance quantum communication networks.

Self-Aligned Fabrication Process: This patent introduces a self-aligning process to transport light and couple photonic layers inside quantum memory devices.

"Our technical achievements and patents provide a clear indication of how IonQ’s research and development teams are driving the production of scalable, high-performance, enterprise-grade systems,” said Dean Kassmann, SVP of Engineering & Technology at IonQ. “These patents signal to the industry our strong technical innovations and our strategic, well-considered path towards performance that provides commercial quantum advantage over classical computing."

By continuously strengthening its IP, IonQ is not only protecting its core advancements but also laying the groundwork for future generations of quantum systems. The company’s recent acquisitions have further broadened the scope of patents owned by IonQ as depicted in the attached overview of its intellectual property portfolio.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the leading commercial quantum computing and networking company , delivering high-performance systems aimed at solving the world’s most complex problems. IonQ’s current generation quantum computers, IonQ Forte and IonQ Forte Enterprise, are the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems that have been helping customers and partners such as Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve 20x performance results.

The company is accelerating its technology roadmap and intends to deliver the world’s most powerful quantum computers with 2 million qubits by 2030 to accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. IonQ’s advancements in quantum networking also positions the company as a leader in building the quantum internet.

The company’s innovative technology and rapid growth were recognized in Newsweek’s 2025 Excellence Index 1000, Forbes’ 2025 Most Successful Mid-Cap Companies list, and Built In’s 2025 100 Best Midsize Places to Work in Washington DC and Seattle, respectively. Available through all major cloud providers, IonQ is making quantum computing more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.

IonQ Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including but not limited to the terms “accelerating,” “advancements,” “building,” “continues,” “deepening,” “delivering,” “driving,” “expanding,” “growth,” “intends,” “intent,” “ongoing,” “optimizing,” and other similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to the IonQ’s quantum computing capabilities and plans; IonQ’s technology driving commercial quantum advantage in the future; the necessity, effectiveness, and future impacts of IonQ’s offerings available today; and the scalability, fidelity, efficiency, viability, accessibility, effectiveness, importance, reliability, performance, speed, impact, practicality, feasibility, and commercial-readiness of IonQ’s offerings. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: IonQ’s ability to implement its technical roadmap; changes in the competitive industries in which IonQ operates, including development of competing technologies; IonQ’s inability to attract and retain key personnel; or IonQ’s ability to deliver, and customers’ ability to generate, value from IonQ’s offerings. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s filings, including but not limited to those described in the “Risk Factors” section of IonQ's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and reports on Form 10-Q. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and IonQ assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. IonQ does not give any assurance that it will achieve its expectations.

Works cited

* The total number of IonQ patents at 1,060 includes licensed, owned, or controlled granted patents and pending patent applications as of August 2025, including those from Lightsynq Technologies, IDQ (in which IonQ owns a majority stake), and Oxford Ionics (which IonQ intends to acquire pending closure pursuant to terms signed in June 2025).

PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.

Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.

Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.

The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.

“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”

The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.

Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.

Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.

Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.

“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.

Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.

The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.

In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.

Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.

“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.

The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.

If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.

Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.

Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.

The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.

Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.

This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)

FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)

FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)