Home / Technology / IonQ Soars 20% on Major DARPA Quantum Contract
IonQ Soars 20% on Major DARPA Quantum Contract
14 Apr
Summary
- IonQ secured a significant DARPA contract for the HARQ program.
- The contract focuses on developing quantum interconnects for networked systems.
- Nvidia's new AI models aim to make quantum processors practical.

IonQ experienced a significant stock increase of about 20% on Tuesday, driven by the announcement of a substantial contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Heterogeneous Architectures for Quantum (HARQ) program.
The HARQ initiative is focused on creating advanced quantum interconnects. These systems are designed to facilitate communication and integration among different types of quantum computers, thereby advancing the development of networked quantum systems.
IonQ's contribution to the HARQ program involves the creation of quantum memories. These are essential for its interconnect technology, promising to improve speed and efficiency in scaling quantum systems. The company's CEO, Niccolo de Masi, highlighted the project's potential to bolster national security.
Adding to the positive momentum in quantum technology stocks, Nvidia unveiled NVIDIA Ising, a family of open-source quantum AI models. These models are intended to help in the creation of practical quantum processors, with CEO Jensen Huang emphasizing AI's critical role in making quantum computing viable.