UPDATED: DARPA Selects IonQ to Produce Next-Generation Atomic Clocks
Under the DARPA It’s About Time program, IonQ will accelerate production and deliver 125 Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks to U.S. government customers; this release is a clarification of the release issued earlier today
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
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IonQ has received a $28 million contract extension, with an additional option of $30 million through DARPA’s It’s About Time program.
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The company will invest $15 million in dedicated production space, manufacturing equipment, testing capabilities and support staff.
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IonQ will deliver 125 atomic clocks to the U.S. government for mission-critical applications.
COLLEGE PARK, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) clarifies its announcement that it has been awarded a $28 million contract extension, with an additional option of $30 million through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) It’s About Time program. Under the program, IonQ will advance its scalable clock production capabilities for its Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks and deliver 125 units to U.S. government customers. The clocks are designed for mission-critical applications including radar, secure communications, and precision geolocation.
This $28 million award is a modification to its existing DARPA agreement, and this modification will cover manufacturing development and 25 Evergreen-05 clocks. A further $30 million option, not yet exercised, would cover an additional 100 clocks, for a combined value of up to $58 million.
Evergreen-05 Atomic Clock Performance
Originally developed under DARPA’s Robust Optical Clock Network program, IonQ’s Evergreen-05 is a compact, fully integrated optical atomic clock with a 5-liter, shoe box-sized form factor. It delivers timing stability of 50 femtoseconds at one second and nanosecond holdover over 10 days–projecting to a timing error of less than one second over 30 million years.
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Compared with active hydrogen masers, Evergreen-05 delivers superior phase noise and short-term stability with comparable long-term drift.
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The clock provides this performance in 1/75th of the volume of an active hydrogen maser.
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Its tactical package and broader environmental operating range extend IonQ’s existing clock technology across land, maritime, and airborne platforms.
Program Background
DARPA’s support for the core Evergreen-05 technology began in 2019, when it funded an initial effort for Vector Atomic, then a year-old startup in Pleasanton, California. IonQ acquired Vector Atomic in October 2025 to expand its capabilities into quantum position, navigation, and timing.
Executive Perspective
“We added Vector Atomic to the IonQ family because their clocks and sensors are the best in the world,” said IonQ Chairman and CEO Niccolo de Masi. “DARPA’s investment under the It’s About Time program confirms that we made the right choice.”
“DARPA has been a partner every step of the way. That initial support was critical to prove the core concepts of our clock,” said Marty Boyd, director of IonQ’s timekeeping division and co-founder of Vector Atomic. “We joined IonQ to accelerate and scale up delivery of our commercial products, and DARPA’s continued support gives us the opportunity to do that.”
Production Investment
To support Evergreen-05 delivery, IonQ will invest $15 million in dedicated production space, advanced manufacturing and test equipment, and support staff.
About IonQ
IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and foundry – delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the IonQ Tempo, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems. Earlier systems have helped customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve a 20x performance increase over previous quantum solutions and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.
Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Our quantum computing services are available through all major cloud providers, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.
Note to Investors Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the anticipated scope, value, funding and benefits to IonQ of the contract extension under DARPA’s It’s About Time program; the expected timing, quantity and completion of deliveries of Evergreen-05 optical atomic clocks to U.S. government customers; the anticipated amount, timing and benefits of IonQ’s planned investment in production space, manufacturing and test equipment, testing capabilities and support staff; IonQ’s ability to scale and accelerate clock production; the expected performance, specifications, stability, holdover, form factor and environmental operating range of Evergreen-05, and its performance relative to alternative timing technologies; the anticipated applications, use cases and platforms for IonQ’s clocks and sensors; the anticipated benefits to IonQ of its acquisition of Vector Atomic; and IonQ’s business strategy, technology roadmap and future operations.. These statements are only predictions based on our expectations and projections about future events as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may prove incorrect, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, among others, those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed Annual Reports on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can management assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement we make. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except as otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806095651/en/
IonQ Media Contacts:
Cheryl Krauss
[email protected]
Tor Constantino
[email protected]
IonQ Investor Contact:
[email protected]
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