UK quantum firm Oxford Ionics opens first overseas outpost in Boulder

BOULDER — Oxford Ionics, a British trapped-ion quantum computing company, has planted its first across-the-pond flag in Boulder.

For the 5-year-old company, which last month claimed to have set a qubit performance record for mass-producible quantum computer chips, Boulder, a global hub for the cutting-edge quantum industry, “really felt like a natural fit,” David Allcock, Oxford Ionics’ North American director of science and Boulder office leader, told BizWest in an email. 

Oxford recently moved into 1919 14th St., a property owned by W.W. Reynolds Cos. that is downtown Boulder’s tallest office building.

“From the cutting-edge laboratories at (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and JILA, (the research institution formerly known as the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics,) to the strong academic programs at the University of Colorado Boulder, the city is rapidly becoming a hotspot for quantum computing innovation,” said Allcock, who received a doctorate in physics from University of Oxford in England, where he worked with Oxford Ionics co-founders Chris Ballance and Tom Harty.

“It’s clear that the Mountain West is leading the charge in quantum computing for the U.S., and we want to be a part of that ecosystem as we expand our presence in North America,” he said.

Oxford Ionics’ goal, Allcock said, is to make the world’s most-powerful quantum computers, and then make the production of those computers scalable.

Quantum theory attempts to explain the behavior of matter at atomic and subatomic levels. Because quantum computers take advantage of special properties of quantum systems such as superposition, their computing power and speed is exponentially greater than a traditional computer. 

Applications of quantum science could revolutionize the way humans discover new drug therapies, map the cosmos, protect sensitive data, combat climate change and maybe even discover new forms of life in deep space.

“There are a few different ways you can build a quantum computer,” Allcock said in an email. “We take the trapped-ion approach which means we use ions, or charged atoms, as our qubits. (Qubits are the quantum versions of the classical ‘bits’ that make up classical computing).”

Oxford’s unique “secret sauce,” he said, is called Electronic Qubit Control. “We use electronics (radio waves), not lasers, to control our qubits. This technology allows us both to build the highest-performing qubits in the world as well as unlock far greater scalability. Moreover, we can integrate all of this technology onto a standard chip that can be produced via existing semiconductor manufacturing processes.” 

With its Colorado basecamp established, Oxford is “focused on building out our Boulder office and expanding our operations across North America from this base,” said Allcock, who spent several years as a NIST researcher and was most recently an assistant professor at the University of Oregon.

Within the next 18 months, Allcock said that Oxford hopes to have more than 200 employees working at the new office.

The company is “very excited to be tapping into the rich talent pool both in Boulder and across the United States,” he said. “We are actively hiring for roles within our quantum science and engineering teams to be based in our Boulder office.”

The Boulder Valley — with its powerhouse federal labs and CU’s world-class physics department — has become, over the past three decades or so, the epicenter of quantum research.

“The Boulder Chamber is thrilled to welcome Oxford Ionics, a global leader in capturing the power of trapped-ion qubits for practical and scalable quantum computing, into our burgeoning quantum research and development ecosystem,” Boulder Chamber CEO John Tayer said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to assisting its team through its fast-paced development cycle as it works to bring powerful quantum computers to market – including sourcing Boulder’s high quality talent, accessing facilities to meet its specialized needs, and providing support as it builds a home here in Boulder.”

The Boulder Valley region, a leader in evolving quantum discoveries out of the lab and into the marketplace, is home to operations from major corporate players in the still-nascent industry such as Quantinuum, a Broomfield company spun out of Honeywell International Inc. (Nasdaq: HON);  California-headquartered Atom Computing Inc., which opened a Boulder R&D center last year; and ColdQuanta Inc.,  which does business as Infleqtion and has grown into a worldwide operator with offices as far flung as Austin, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Colorado’s quantum profile recently received a major boost from the U.S. Department Of Commerce, which last month recognized New Mexico and the Centennial State as a designated Tech Hub for quantum technology.

Elevate Quantum, a nonprofit consortium of about 70 stakeholders in the quantum space who represent industry, academia, capital and laboratories, beat out a similar group from Illinois to win a phase two Tech Hub designation from the DOC’s Economic Development Agency, unlocking $127 million in state and federal funds, which are expected to generate several billion more dollars of private investment in the region’s quantum industry. 

“The Mountain West is the largest quantum cluster in America and the only federally-recognized Tech Hub to receive major US funding for our industry. But in order to secure the lasting economic vibrancy that comes with quantum technologies for generations, we must closely partner with and play host to the best talent, ideas, and companies from across the world,” Elevate Quantum CEO Zachary Yerushalmi said in a prepared statement. “That’s why we’re so excited to welcome Oxford Ionics, a world leader in ion trap quantum computing, to our ecosystem and are eager to see how they bring forward the future for everyone in our region and well beyond.”