College Park, Maryland-based quantum computing company IonQ Inc. will open the first dedicated quantum computing manufacturing facility in the U.S., near Seattle.
The 65,000-square-foot facility is in Bothell, Washington, home to several tech and Pharma companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Panasonic and Seagen (formerly known as Seattle Genetics).
The new location will house IonQ’s second quantum data center, and be the primary production engineering location for the company.
IonQ said the expansion could add thousands of new jobs in the region over the coming years. It said its broader intent is to invest $1 billion through expansion in the Pacific Northwest over the next 10 years.
“The Seattle region has been a hub of tech innovation and manufacturing for decades, and has the skilled workforce we need to design, build and manufacture or quantum computers,” said IonQ president and CEO Peter Chapman. “As we planned our expansion, the Seattle area was an ideal option for our new facility.”
The announcement was hailed by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), an early proponent of the CHIPS and Science Act, and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents Bothell and Washington’s 1st Congressional District.
Last year, IonQ and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory announced a public-private partnership had resulted in a sustainable supply of barium qubits, used to manufacture barium-based quantum computers.
IonQ has several large contracts, including those with Airbus, General Electric, Dow Chemistry, Hyundai Motors, the University of Maryland and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
