IonQ CEO Niccolo De Masi warned in a March 10 interview that quantum computing is coming faster than industry forecasts and that this acceleration requires preparing digital security systems now to protect civilian communications, financial institutions, and military systems.
“The future of the battlefield lies in quantum computing,” De Masi declared. According to the CEO, IonQ is positioned as a strategic partner of the U.S. government. Development of a national quantum program and expansion of the domestic quantum manufacturing ecosystem.
The technical backbone of Mr. de Masi’s remarks was post-quantum cryptography (PQC), a set of algorithms designed to withstand attacks by quantum computers.
Unlike current cryptographic systems such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which secure everything from bank connections to transactions on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency networks, PQC algorithms are built on mathematical problems. cannot withstand the computational power of quantum computers.
De Masi said major banks and carriers have already implemented PQC. Here are the claims IonQ executives attribute to these organizations: The cost of implementing it now is low compared to the risk of a future crypto breakout..
IonQ is an American company that specializes in quantum computing through trapped ion technology, an approach that uses charged atoms as quantum qubits rather than superconducting circuits like IBM and Google. The company is one of the benchmark companies in this space due to its hardware roadmap and partnerships with academic and government institutions.
IonQ brings 256-qubit device to Cambridge
Alongside his statement on defense and PQC, Mr de Masi announced a research partnership with the University of Cambridge.
The collaboration explores establishing the IonQ Quantum Innovation Center within the university’s Cavendish Laboratory. Install a 256 qubit system IonQ says it will be the most powerful in the UK.
Researchers, start-ups and national laboratories will be able to access the equipment through a program within the UK’s National Quantum Initiative. The statement did not specify flight dates or access conditions.
IonQ quantum development
In June 2025, IonQ announced a roadmap for development through 2030. Quantum computer with 2 million physical qubits and 80,000 logical qubits. After acquiring SkyWater Technology late last January, the IonQ team hopes to begin testing a 200,000 physical qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) by 2028.
In parallel, executives from IonQ and Microsoft published a joint article on March 2 proposing combining quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the discovery of materials and chemical reactions with applications in medicine, energy, and the environment.
The aim is to develop everything from more effective drugs and cleaner batteries to catalysts that capture carbon from the atmosphere.
Companies and governments join the race for quantum computing
De Masi’s comments come at a time when the global quantum race is verifiably accelerating.
In the United States, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a new open call within its Quantum Assessment Initiative (QBI). The goal is to identify architectures that can: Build a useful-scale quantum computer by 2033.
The QBI program’s new director, Micah Stouttimore, considered the deadline “probably,” but considered it a change in tone compared to the program’s start in 2024, when the existence of a useful-scale quantum computer was just an open question with no precise answer.
President Donald Trump’s administration also included the adoption of PQC as: Priorities in the National Cybersecurity Strategy announced on March 6th.
Similarly, last February, IonQ was selected as a participant in the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s SHIELD contract, as reported by CriptoNoticias. Allocate up to $151 billion in budget The purpose is to develop quantum technology.
In China, Origin Quantum released its quantum operating system, Origin Pilot, for free public download at the end of February within the framework of the Communist Party’s 2026-2030 Five-Year Plan. Quantum technology designated as a national strategic field.
De Masi’s remarks encapsulate the tensions that define the current state of quantum computing. This is the same technology that has the potential to compromise global cybersecurity and optimize medical and scientific solutions to counter it. Governments and businesses are competing to be first in control..
In this scenario, the adoption of post-quantum cryptography ceases to be a technical precaution and becomes a strategic decision with military, financial, and geopolitical implications.