IonQ Opens Manufacturing Facility: Week in Brief: 01/27/23

PASQAL, a developer of neutral atom quantum computing, secured a €100 million ($109 million) equity series B round led by new investor Temasek, a global investment company based in Singapore. Other new investors include European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Wa’ed Ventures, and Bpifrance, through its Large Venture Fund. Continuing investors include Quantonation, the Defense Innovation Fund, Daphni, and Eni Next.

TORONTO — The government of Canada is providing $40 million of funding to enable Xanadu Quantum Technologies to build and commercialize a photonic fault-tolerant quantum computer. Supported through the government’s Strategic Innovation Fund, the 177.8 million CAD project is expected to create 530 jobs in high-tech and quantum computing fields.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — SPIE and Jenoptik established a scholarship that will support photonics-technician students in Florida. The jointly funded Jenoptik-SPIE Photonics Technician Scholarship will provide students with $3000 to offset tuition and fees, textbooks, computers, or a computer upgrade, as well as other supplies and equipment needed for courses. Scholarship winners will also receive a one-year complimentary SPIE student membership.

ATLANTA — Axion Biosystems, a developer of live-cell analysis tools, reported the full integration of imaging technology company CytoSMART Technologies into the Axion BioSystems brand. CytoSMART Technologies’ imaging platforms and all instruments will be sold under the Axion BioSystems banner. Axion acquired CytoSMART in March 2022.

ROME — The Italian Space Agency and Leonardo signed two payload contracts for the upcoming PLATiNO missions for Earth observation with minisatellites. Per the agreements, Leonardo will supply the high-resolution optical camera for PLATiNO 3 and the hyperspectral instrument for PLATiNO 4. The payloads will support safe and sustainable environmental and atmospheric monitoring.

DITZINGEN, Germany — Technology company TRUMPF joined the Quantum Technology & Application Consortium (QUTAC). TRUMPF will initially be active in QUTAC’s Production & Logistics and Quantum Systems working groups. The applications the company will develop will focus on optimizing machine occupancy on the production floor, image processing via machine learning, and how quantum computing can be harnessed to accelerate machine learning.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — IonQ, a developer of quantum computing technology, will open a dedicated quantum computing manufacturing facility in the U.S., located outside Seattle. The facility will house IonQ’s growing R&D and manufacturing teams, as they develop systems to meet continued customer demand. The facility is part of IonQ’s broader intent to invest $1 billion through expansion in the Pacific Northwest over the next 10 years.

IonQ’s new manufacturing facility near Seattle, Washington. Courtesy of IonQ.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Innolight Technology, DZS, and LightRiver joined Open XR Forum, an industry initiative to advance the deployment of software-configurable point-to-point and point-to-multipoint coherent optical networks using industry-defined XR optics pluggable transceiver technology.

SALT LAKE CITY — Biomerics, a medical device manufacturer, completed a 26,000-sq-ft expansion of its Monroe, Conn., facility. The Monroe facility is the headquarters of Biomerics’ micro-metals processing business and specializes in the design, development, and manufacture of complex micromachined and laser-processed components for the interventional robotic medical device market.

REINACH, Switzerland — Endress+Hauser Mexico invested roughly €10 million to establish an occupied sales and service center in the Mexico City metropolitan area. The 4100-sq-ft center includes modern office facilities, an extensively equipped customer experience and process training center, and a complete calibration lab.