Oxford Ionics

01 / WHAT IT BUILT

What the company did

Oxford Ionics was a quantum-computing spinout from the University of Oxford founded in 2019 by physicists Dr. Chris Ballance and Dr. Tom Harty. Instead of the bulky optical systems used by most trapped-ion quantum computers, it integrated trapped-ion qubits with standard semiconductor-chip manufacturing through its proprietary Electronic Qubit Control (EQC) technology, aiming for densely packed, scalable, manufacturable quantum processors. It raised about $48.4 million, including 2023 Series A rounds from Oxford Science Enterprises and Lansdowne Partners.

03 / EVENT HISTORY

Events in the structured record

1. 2019
   Founded

   Chris Ballance and Tom Harty founded Oxford Ionics out of the University of Oxford to commercialize their trapped-ion research.

2. 2023
   Series A

   Oxford Ionics raised 2023 Series A rounds from Oxford Science Enterprises and Lansdowne Partners, bringing total funding to about $48.4 million.

3. 2025
   Acquired by IonQ

   In June 2025 IonQ agreed to acquire Oxford Ionics for about $1.075 billion; the transaction formally completed in September 2025, combining Oxford Ionics' chip-scale trapped-ion technology with IonQ's quantum platforms.