In partnership with

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe below to never miss a qubit. 👇️

FROM THE EDITOR.

This has been a blistering week for quantum news — and the question is: Is this the new normal.

Just a few headlines. Funding? Quantum Machines Raises $170 Million. Horizon Quantum Plans Public Listing, Deal Values Company at Approximately $500 Million.

Business headlines? IonQ Names Niccolo de Masi as President & Chief Executive Officer. IonQ to Acquire Geneva-Based ID Quantique, Enters Into Global Quantum Strategic Partnership with SK Telecom. Horizon Quantum Plans Public Listing, Deal Values Company at Approximately $500 Million

Research and Development? PsiQuantum Announces Omega, a Manufacturable Photonic Quantum Computing Chipset. AWS Unveils Ocelot, Its First Quantum Computing Chip.

That barely covers the tip of the funnel. There’s also been some amazing research advances announced this week. But, I think you get the point.

The open rhetorical question is: Is this a fluke, or are we looking at the new normal of a rapidly accelerating quantum industry?

As we start the third month of the first quarter of 2025, the pace of news and advances in quantum — anecdotally — seems to be increasing. Whether this has legs, we’ll have to wait and watch.

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• Public Company On The Horizon

• IonQ Equity Offering

• Quantum Machines’ Green

• Quantum Computing Meets Quanta Computing

• Ocelot on The Prowl

• IonQ Financial Report

• New CEO at IonQ

• Omega PsiQuantum

• India Expansion

• Welinq and QphoX — Seamless Connection

• Multiplexed Entanglement

• Quantum Computing in Spaaaaace

• Advantage… Advantage?

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

If I had a nickel for every time a company named their QPUs after animals, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. The reveal of Amazon’s Ocelot brings the company from being “just” a cloud provider for quantum to a real contender in the quantum race. Out of the zoo of various superconducting qubits Amazon went with cat qubits, which validates the rather unique technology for startups like Alice & Bob using it to build their own QPUs.

Whatever the qubit type, companies are more and more likely to end up using control systems provided by Quantum Machines, which recently secured an additional $170M of funding. With its customer base now exceeding 50% of quantum computing developer companies, could Quantum Machines become the quantum ASML?

Speaking of monopolies, IonQ wasn’t shy of taking over news feeds. A $500M equity offering, a new CEO, and the acquisition of ID Quantique - all in one day. It’s exciting to see what this brings to the company’s future and the broader space of trapped ion quantum computing. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

This week’s quantum research reinforced a familiar pattern—entanglement continues to outperform classical methods in precision sensing, computing, and decision-making, but practical implementation remains a challenge.

Entangled photons proved capable of measuring Earth’s rotation with unprecedented sensitivity, though high photon loss reminds us that nature doesn’t make quantum engineering easy. In quantum machine learning, a hybrid quantum-classical transformer introduced an alternative self-attention mechanism, showing potential efficiency gains but still waiting for real-world validation beyond simulations.

Meanwhile, a quantum advantage experiment in a nonlocal game provided one of the clearest demonstrations yet of entanglement’s power, offering a more straightforward win than some previous supremacy claims.

These advances highlight how quantum continues to push boundaries, but the question remains: when will these move from proof-of-concept to everyday utility? For now, quantum keeps winning in controlled settings—turning those wins into practical technology is the next big challenge. — Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

Want more research insights? Get them delivered straight to your inbox, Monday through Friday, at The Daily Qubit. Subscribe below or use the link to update preferences at the end of this email. 👇️

INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: Horizon Quantum Plans Public Listing, Deal Values Company at Approximately $500 Million

➡️ Horizon Quantum Computing plans to go public through a merger with dMY Squared Technology Group, valuing the company at approximately $500 million.

➡️ The Singapore-based firm focuses on developing software tools that simplify quantum computing, aiming to create a common software platform across different quantum hardware systems.

➡️ The deal remains in early stages, with a definitive agreement expected in the second quarter and a closing anticipated before the end of the year, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

➡️ This move may signal growing investor interest in quantum computing, particularly in bridging the "applications bottleneck" — the gap between advancing quantum hardware and real-world software usability.

➡️ If the merger succeeds, Horizon Quantum would join other quantum firms that have entered public markets through SPAC mergers, including IonQ and Rigetti Computing, though past SPAC deals in deep tech have seen mixed outcomes.

Analyst Commentary

Horizon Quantum Computing’s SPAC merger signals that public markets are becoming a more attractive funding avenue for quantum companies. (If you remember, there was a surge of quantum SPACs a few years ago.)

Investor interest in quantum seems strong, and the ability to raise capital through public listings could help startups like Horizon scale their efforts.

The company’s focus on software is worth focusing on. While quantum hardware developments make headlines, the "applications bottleneck" — the challenge of writing effective software for quantum machines — remains a major hurdle. Horizon’s strategy of building a common software layer across different quantum computing architectures echoes how classical computing evolved with operating systems like Windows. If successful, it could play a crucial role in making quantum computing more accessible and useful across industries.

However, history suggests caution when it comes to quantum SPACs. IonQ, one of the more successful examples, has managed to navigate public markets and is currently trading up. Others, like Rigetti Computing, have faced challenges in meeting growth expectations. Whether Horizon can avoid similar pitfalls will depend on its ability to execute on its vision, secure meaningful partnerships, and demonstrate commercial viability.

While discussing the cautions, it’s important to add that this, of course, is not necessarily a done deal. It remains a non-binding letter of intent, meaning both parties retain the option to walk away. Due diligence, regulatory approvals, and shareholder votes all remain ahead.

For now, and no matter what happens, the announcement can be read as a sign of growing confidence in quantum’s potential—but it should also reminds us that turning quantum promise into quantum reality remains a work in progress.

Optimize global IT operations with our World at Work Guide

Explore this ready-to-go guide to support your IT operations in 130+ countries. Discover how:

• Standardizing global IT operations enhances efficiency and reduces overhead

• Ensuring compliance with local IT legislation to safeguard your operations

• Integrating Deel IT with EOR, global payroll, and contractor management optimizes your tech stack

Leverage Deel IT to manage your global operations with ease.

Download free guide

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

QuTech released updated versions of their cloud QPU's, namely, Spin-2+ and Starmon-7. Spin-2+ enables universal quantum logic through novel microwave control methods that simplify operations while maintaining 99.5%+ single-qubit and two-qubit gate fidelities. It also demonstrates coherent operations between spin qubits separated by 250 μm on the same chip, addressing scalability challenges. Starmon-7 expands on the 5-qubit Starmon-5 architecture with 7 transmon qubits in a star configuration, with 99.9% single-qubit gate fidelity (DRAG pulses), 97% two-qubit CZ gate fidelity, and 60 ns two-qubit gate duration. Both platforms are accessible through Quantum Inspire's cloud platform. While Spin-2+ focuses on long-term scalability through semiconductor compatibility, Starmon-7 provides immediate performance benefits for algorithm development with its higher qubit count and faster gates

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🐈️ AWS unveiled Ocelot, its first quantum computing chip which is designed to improve error correction and scalability using cat qubits, which intrinsically suppress certain errors, potentially reducing the physical qubits needed for error-corrected logical qubits by up to 90%.

💰️ IonQ reported $43.1 million in 2024 revenue, nearly doubling from the previous year, while posting a $331.6 million net loss as it continues expanding in quantum networking, securing major contracts and acquiring ID Quantique.

💰️ IonQ has entered into an equity distribution agreement with Morgan Stanley and Needham to sell up to $500 million in common stock through an at-the-market offering, with proceeds intended for corporate growth, networking expansion, and new application areas.

💼 IonQ has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in ID Quantique, adding its quantum networking business and nearly 300 patents to IonQ’s portfolio, while also forming a strategic partnership with SK Telecom to expand its quantum networking capabilities.

💸 Rigetti Computing and Quanta Computer have formed a strategic collaboration, each committing over $100 million over five years to advance superconducting quantum computing, with Quanta additionally investing $35 million in Rigetti pending regulatory approval.

🤑 Quantum Machines has raised $170 million in Series C funding, bringing its total to $280 million, to support scaling quantum computers to tens of thousands of qubits.

🤝 Nu Quantum has launched the Quantum Datacenter Alliance to unite leading quantum companie in encouraging discussions on scaling quantum computing in data centers, with a focus on distributed architectures, standardization, and interoperability, and plans for an inaugural event in 2025.

🖥️ PsiQuantum has unveiled Omega, a quantum photonic chipset designed for scalable, utility-scale quantum computing, integrating single-photon qubits with silicon photonics and high-fidelity quantum interconnects, with plans to deploy million-qubit systems at Quantum Compute Centers in Brisbane and Chicago.

🌐 Turkcell and ID Quantique have successfully completed the world's first terrestrial intercontinental quantum key distribution over a fiber-optic link in Istanbul, demonstrating QKD’s real-world feasibility for securing telecommunications networks and positioning Türkiye as an early adopter of quantum-safe encryption.

💸 QT Sense, a Dutch startup specializing in quantum sensing for disease diagnostics, has raised €6 million to advance its Quantum Nuova product, which uses nanodiamonds to detect cellular activity at a single-cell level, enabling early sepsis detection and personalized cancer treatment, with its first deployment at University Medical Center Groningen.

EVENTS.

March 7 -- QNC Summit 2025 focused on quantum and neuromorphic computing hardware will be held in Berlin, Germany.

March 20 -- NVIDIA's GTC 2025 featuring the inaugural Quantum Day event.

March 25-27 -- Quantum Australia Conference will be held in Brisbane. The conference will explore the theme The Translation of Quantum – how current and future industries can leverage the power of quantum.

March 31-April 1 -- Qubits 2025, D-Wave’s annual user conference is themed “Quantum Realized” and will spotlight customer success stories, technical roadmap updates, scientific achievements, and advancements in quantum AI. The event takes place at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

April 2-4 -- NQCC’s Scalability in Quantum Computing Conference from 2nd-4th April 2025 in Oxford, UK.

May 14-15 -- Q2B Tokyo 2025

May 20-22 -- Join us for the 3rd annual IQT Nordics, May 20-22, 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and contribute to scaling quantum computers towards real world applications.

June 18-19 -- Quantum Now|ICI Quantique will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France