Quantum computing startup IonQ is to make its quantum machines accessible through Google Cloud.
The company’s 11-qubit quantum hardware is available to GCP customers, and IonQ expects to make its 32-qubit system available later this year.
“We’re thrilled to make our hardware available for purchase on the Google Cloud Marketplace, and we can’t wait to see the different workloads that developers start running,” said Peter Chapman, CEO & president of IonQ. “This partnership expands the availability and use of quantum computing ten-fold and brings us that much closer to the first killer quantum application.”
IonQ’s system is the first quantum computer to be available via Google Cloud, ahead of Google’s own hardware. Its technology is also being offered through AWS and Microsoft Azure. The company announced its 32-qubit system last October and plans to develop modular quantum computers small enough to be networked together in 2023.
Google has said it will develop its own commercially available quantum computer by 2029.
“With availability on the Google Cloud Marketplace, IonQ is making its solution accessible to more customers and developers,” said Amy Bray, global head of Google Cloud Marketplace. “We’re committed to making it easy for customers to access, subscribe to, and benefit from partner solutions via our marketplace, and look forward to working with IonQ.”
In March IonQ announced a $2bn merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). The startup entered into a merger agreement with dMY Technology Group, Inc. III, to become the first publicly traded quantum computing company.
IBM has begun installing on-premise quantum computers – it recently delivered one to Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in Germany and is due to install one at the Cleveland Clinic medical center in Ohio – but also offers access to more than 20 Quantum systems housed in a New York data center through a cloud-based web portal.