Quantum Leap: IonQ to acquire Capella Space and Lightsynq Technologies

Welcome to the latest edition of “Quantum Leap” where The Fly decodes news and activity in the quantum computing space. 

QUANTINUUM IN QATAR:  Quantinuum announced it is establishing a Qatari-incorporated joint venture with Al Rabban Capital, a division of Al Rabban Holding Company. “The Joint Venture will accelerate quantum computing adoption in Qatar and the region, strategically positioning the U.S. and Qatar as global leaders in the quantum revolution,” the company stated. Honeywell (HON) owns a skate in Quantinuum.

QUANTUM RESILIENT SATELLITE NETWORK: Sealsq (LAES) during its Quantum Day in France, announced the intention to invest $10M in WISeSat.Space, and join its parent company, WISeKey (WKEY) as a strategic investor in the WISeSat satellite constellation. The June 2025 mission will also feature a Proof of Concept showcasing Sealcoin’s ability to enable decentralized, autonomous transactions between satellites and IoT devices. This capability opens new opportunities for machine-to-machine transactions in industries such as smart cities, automating resource management and infrastructure control; logistics, securing real-time tracking and automated payments; and remote sensing and environmental monitoring, enabling data monetization and autonomous operations.

CANAL13: Quantum (QMCO) announced that Canal 13 has deployed a fully integrated content storage and management solution built on Quantum’s Myriad with ActiveScale. This new Quantum-powered workflow breaks down storage silos by unifying production and archive environments.

WISESAT 2.1: Sealsq together with WISeKey and WISeSat.Space announced that it will launch the WISeSat 2.1, the first satellite embedding Sealsq’s WISeKey Quantum RootKey as part of a space-based Quantum Key Distribution Proof-of-Concept. The WISeKey Quantum RootKey is a hardware-based root-of-trust technology, designed to resist quantum decryption attacks by securing key generation, storage, and management directly on the satellite. This ensures that sensitive cryptographic operations remain isolated, tamper-resistant, and protected against both classical and quantum threats.

PROMOTION: Quantum Computing (QUBT) announced the promotion of two key executives to support the company’s next phase of strategic growth and commercialization. Milan Begliarbekov has been promoted to COO and Pouya Dianat has been promoted to chief revenue officer.

M&A: IonQ (IONQ) announced plans to launch a global space-to-space and space-to-ground satellite quantum key distribution network, highlighting its ambitions to be the first company to have both a quantum network and quantum computer in space. To facilitate development of this network, IonQ has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Capella Space. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. IonQ also announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lightsynq Technologies Inc., a Boston-based startup founded by former Harvard University quantum memory experts. Lightsynq’s team and IP are expected to accelerate both IonQ’s quantum networking and quantum computing roadmaps. IonQ will also acquire ownership of Lightsynq’s portfolio of over 20 technology patents and patent applications related to quantum memory, further strengthening IonQ’s growing intellectual property position.

EARNINGS RECAP: Rigetti Computing (RGTI) shares fell over 13% on Monday following first quarter results. “Rigetti is proud to be awarded important government-funded projects in the U.S. and U.K. to advance our technology, which demonstrates our continued leadership in superconducting quantum computing,” says Rigetti CEO Subodh Kulkarni. “We also are making great strides in developing innovative approaches to scaling to higher qubit count systems, which is possible due to our open and modular system architecture, in-house full-stack expertise, and world-class partners.”

D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) surpassed analyst expectations in its Q1 report last week. “The first quarter of 2025 was arguably the most significant in D-Wave’s history, especially in terms of our unique ability to deliver quantum value today to our customers and the scientific community,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. “We recognized revenue on our first Advantage system sale to a major research institution, moved an additional customer application into commercial production, and became the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy over classical computing on a useful real-world problem. The end result was a record revenue and gross profit quarter.” Benchmark raised the firm’s price target on D-Wave Quantum to $14 from $8 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. With “several notable achievements during the quarter,” the firm thinks the progress demonstrates the strength of the firm’s technology, accelerating pace of adoption, and improving pipeline of revenue generating opportunities, adding that it is also encouraged by an additional customer application moving to production during the period with several others anticipated to transition later this year.

IonQ’s first quarter results fell right in line with consensus and the company also backed its full-year 2025 revenue outlook. “I am pleased with the strong start to the year at IonQ, including revenue above the midpoint of guidance for the first quarter and almost $700 million in cash equivalents as of March 31. We delivered important commercialization and expansion milestones for both our quantum computing and quantum networking businesses,” said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ. “We’re delivering real-world value for our customers today, including a recent demonstration of a 12% speed improvement over classical computing in a simulation of a heart pump using quantum processed data and a production product by our partner Ansys.” Needham lowered its price target on IonQ to $50 from $54 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported better than expected Q1 revenue and reiterated its FY25 revenue outlook, though the firm’s reduced price target reflects its higher EBITDA losses associated with recent acquisitions and accelerated investments, the analyst told investors in a research note.