Ionq Announces Major Quantum Computing Breakthrough Find Out More

IonQ Inc. (IONQ) on Thursday announced that it reached a major quantum computing breakthrough, hitting an algorithmic qubit (#AQ) score of 64 on its Tempo (quantum computer) system. 

The achievement, reached three months earlier than expected, expands IonQ's quantum computational power, positioning it ahead of competitors like IBM (IBM).

However, IonQ stock traded over 9% lower on Thursday afternoon, and it was the second-most trending equity ticker on Stocktwits. Retail sentiment around the stock shifted to 'bullish' from 'extremely bullish' territory amid 'extremely high' message volume levels. 

The stock saw a 2,644% surge in user message count over the past month. Stoctwits users said they are adding to their position due to the price drop. 

According to the company, reaching #AQ 64 means its Tempo system can now process over 18 quintillion different quantum states. That's a level of power that opens the door to real-world applications in fields like energy distribution, pharmaceutical development, logistics, and anomaly detection.

The #AQ benchmark quantifies a quantum system's ability to handle increasingly complex algorithms while maintaining accuracy. Each increase in the AQ value doubles the effective computing space. Reaching AQ 64 equates to a 268-million-fold leap in computational scale compared to IonQ's AQ 36 mark from early 2024.

Tempo's computational space is now 36 quadrillion times larger than that of IBM's currently available quantum systems, said IonQ. On September 23, the company also said that it had successfully demonstrated frequency conversion of photons from visible to telecom wavelengths, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

IonQ stock has gained over 62% in 2025 and over 791% in the last 12 months. 

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