IonQ acquires SkyWater for $1.8 billion, bulks up with quantum chip foundry - Constellation Research
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IonQ acquires SkyWater for $1.8 billion, bulks up with quantum chip foundry Published January 26, 2026 Copy link Link Copied Copied to clipboard Larry Dignan Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights IonQ will acquire SkyWater Technology in a deal valued at $1.8 billion, or $35 a share. The move will give it a foundry to make quantum computing chips as well as other US-based semiconductors. The deal immediately bulks up IonQ's revenue, which has already been helped by a series of acquisitions, and makes it a vertically integrated quantum computing company. IonQ said SkyWater will continue to operate as a semiconductor foundry. What will be interesting is to how IonQ's acquisition of SkyWater impacts the foundry's deals with other quantum companies. The company has partnerships with D-Wave and PsiQuantum, but is really a US semiconductor sovereignty play and offers a foundry for multiple chips. SkyWater reported third quarter revenue of $150.7 million and 2024 revenue of $342.3 million. During its third quarter earnings call, SkyWater projected $600 million in 2026 revenue. IonQ said its 2025 revenue will be at the high end of its $106 million to $110 million projection. "We believe the future of quantum computing will not be defined by a single winning technology. Just as classical computing evolves into a diverse landscape of CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs and custom accelerators optimized for different workloads, we expect Quantum to follow a similar path where different modalities specialize around unique application requirements," said CEO Thomas Sonderman on SkyWater's third quarter earnings call. IonQ's deal for SkyWater is cash and stock and is part of a strategy to create a large quantum supplier to the US government. IonQ plans to take SkyWater and create a quantum stack that covers compute, networking, security and sensing technologies. Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ, said the deal "enables IonQ to materially accelerate its quantum computing roadmap and secure its fully scalable supply chain domestically." He added that the SkyWater purchase will accelerate quantum computing commercialization. Sonderman said the IonQ deal will enable the combined company to "accelerate multiple engineering pathways for next-generation quantum chips." He added the SkyWater is "fully committed to all of our semiconductor foundry customers and will continue as the quantum merchant supplier of choice." SkyWater will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary and Sonderman will continue to run the company and report to de Masi. As for the rationale behind the deal, the companies outlined the following: IonQ with SkyWater will be able to accelerate quantum platform roadmaps. The combined company is expected to functionally test 200,000 qubit QPUs in 2028 for 8,000 ultra-high fidelity logical qubits. The purchase of SkyWater strengthens IonQ's position as a US government supplier and support Department of War programs. Combined engineering teams and strong balance sheet. The structure of the deal--SkyWater shareholders get $15 in cash and $20 in IonQ stock--will give the company financial flexibility. IonQ emphasized that SkyWater will remain committed to its current aerospace and defense customers as well as provider for AI, quantum, electrification, IoT and healthcare markets. SkyWater will need to keep its revenue base including IonQ rivals for the deal to work. Copy link Link Copied Copied to clipboard Larry Dignan Editor in Chief of Constellation Insights Constellation Research About Larry Dignan: Dignan was most recently Celonis Media’s Editor-in-Chief, where he sat at the intersection of media and marketing. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of ZDNet and has covered the technology industry and transformation trends for more than two decades, publishing articles in CNET, Knowledge@Wharton, Wall Street Week, Interactive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Temple University and a member of the Advisory Board for The Fox Business School's Institute of Business and Information Technology. Constellation Insights does the following: Cover the buy side and sell side of enterprise tech with news, analysis, profiles, interviews, and event coverage of vendors, as well as Constellation Research's community and… Read more Results Insight News January 26, 2026 Caterpillar’s AI Vision Takes Shape, but Data, Cloud Focus Was the Precursor Data to Decisions Caterpillar has plans for AI in its construction equipment; autonomy at scale and machine learning with computer vision, sensors, and edge computing; and Cat AI Assistant, which en...
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