IonQ's SkyWater unit lands D-Wave renewal and a Nobel-backed startup
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on November 5, 2026.
At SkyWater, we were pleased to welcome Qolab, founded by Nobel Prize winner John Martinis, as a new quantum customer. We also extended our multi-year collaboration with D-Wave and launched our OnRamp Foundry Initiative to accelerate quantum startups from laboratory prototype to commercial manufacturing.
De Masi is turning the SkyWater acquisition into a revenue stream from rivals, with D-Wave renewing and a new foundry program courting quantum startups that need manufacturing. That makes IonQ a picks-and-shovels supplier to the sector alongside its role as a competitor in it, right as IBM's Anderon spinoff moves into the same foundry lane.
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SkyWater, the foundry IonQ acquired, is now generating business from companies that compete directly with IonQ in the quantum computing market. D-Wave extended its multi-year collaboration through SkyWater, and Qolab, a startup founded by Nobel Prize winner John Martinis, signed on as a new quantum customer.
That dynamic positions IonQ as both a competitor and a supplier within the same industry, a picks-and-shovels role that can generate revenue regardless of which quantum computing approach ultimately wins commercial scale. Foundry revenue from rivals is structurally different from IonQ's core hardware and software business: it grows when the broader sector grows, not just when IonQ wins deals.
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The OnRamp Foundry Initiative extends that logic further by targeting quantum startups trying to move from laboratory prototypes to commercial manufacturing. By becoming the preferred manufacturing partner for early-stage quantum companies, SkyWater gains a pipeline of customers at the moment they most need outside infrastructure.
The comments came during IonQ's 2026 Q3 earnings. Investors watching the SkyWater thesis will want to track whether the customer roster expands beyond D-Wave and Qolab, and whether foundry revenue begins to show up as a distinct and growing line in future reporting.
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Mentioned: IONQ