IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has advanced to Stage C, the final stage of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI). The agreement has a potential value of up to $300 million and will help validate IonQ’s approach to utility-scale quantum computing.
QBI is designed to assess whether quantum computing systems can achieve “utility scale,” meaning their computational value exceeds their cost. After passing the concept and roadmap stages, Stages A and B, IonQ will have its quantum systems independently verified and validated by DARPA. The Stage C agreement runs through 2029 and includes testing multiple generations of IonQ’s hardware and software against its technical roadmap.