IonQ Surges to 40th in Trading Volume with $146.3 Million in Shares Exchanged Amid Strategic Acquisition

On June 9, 2025, IonQ (IONQ) saw a significant surge in trading volume, with a total of $146.3 million in shares exchanged, marking a 134.23% increase from the previous day. This surge placed IonQ at the 40th position in terms of trading volume for the day. The stock price of IonQ also rose by 2.67%, marking the second consecutive day of gains, with a total increase of 9.27% over the past two days.

IonQ has announced a strategic acquisition of Oxford Ionics, a UK-based quantum hardware company, for $1.075 billion. This deal, which includes approximately $1.065 billion in IonQ stock and $10 million in cash, is expected to close later in 2025, pending regulatory approvals. The acquisition aims to integrate IonQ's expertise in trapped-ion quantum computing with Oxford Ionics' high-fidelity ion-trap technology, which is notable for its integration onto conventional semiconductor chips. This merger is set to deliver scalable quantum computers that are both powerful and manufacturable using industry-standard chip fabrication techniques.

The combined company has set ambitious technical milestones, including achieving 256 physical qubits with 99.99% gate fidelities by 2026, over 10,000 physical qubits with 99.99999% logical accuracy by 2027, and 2 million physical qubits with logical accuracies exceeding 99.9999999999% by 2030. These goals are designed to position the company at the forefront of fault-tolerant, large-scale quantum computing across various critical industries, such as drug discovery, materials science, cybersecurity, aerospace, and logistics.

This acquisition aligns with broader US-UK cooperative efforts in next-generation technology development and strengthens the UK's role as a quantum innovation hub. IonQ plans to expand its operations in Oxford and collaborate with the UK National Quantum Computing Centre and Quantum Missions programs under the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty, co-founders of Oxford Ionics, will join IonQ and continue leading technology development efforts in the UK.