College Park quantum computing company IonQ Inc. (NYSE: IONQ) and the University of Maryland are partnering on a project to make a quantum computing system for the Department of Defense.
IonQ won a contract for the project, announced Tuesday, through a competitive solicitation with UMd.’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, one of 15 DOD-designated, university-affiliated research centers across the country. The contract is worth $5.7 million for initial work, with the potential for a second phase worth up to $12 million.
Both IonQ and ARLIS are based at UMd.'s Discovery District, a research park on the eastern edge of the university's campus.
“The purpose of the project is to help mature quantum computers to the point where they reliably support national security,” Craig Lawrence, interim executive director of ARLIS, said in a statement. “There is significant research and development that is needed before the defense and intelligence community can reach that goal.”
Under the agreement, IonQ will design and build a quantum computing system that will enable hands-on research into quantum algorithms and the cybersecurity of quantum computation.
Peter Chapman, president and CEO of IonQ, said in a statement the quantum computing system will enable ARLIS to “test and validate communications for the DOD.”
IonQ has landed other federal contracts, including work with the Department of Energy and U.S. Air Force research lab. Other customers include Airbus SE and Hyundai Motor Co.
ARLIS focuses primarily on integrating social and behavioral sciences, artificial intelligence and computing efforts to help solve national security challenges. It recently landed an R&D contract with the Pentagon that could be worth as much as $500 million — the largest federal contract UMd. has ever secured.
Shares in IonQ rose about 3% Tuesday, closing at $7.21.
