IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) announced it successfully connected two independent trapped-ion quantum systems using photonic interconnect technology. The company stated this represents the first demonstration of connected commercial quantum computers.

The quantum computing company validated the generation, transmission, and detection of photons used to enable quantum entanglement between two commercial IonQ computers at a distance. This achievement builds on previous laboratory demonstrations of using photonic links to interconnect separated trapped-ion platforms while maintaining coherence for quantum operations.

"Achieving this photonic interconnect milestone is a pivotal moment in our roadmap as we move from individual quantum processors to distributed, networked architectures," said Niccolo de Masi, IonQ's CEO. "Scaling quantum computation beyond the limits of a single chip is essential for realizing a future quantum internet."

The research was partially funded by the U.S. Government through an agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory. IonQ's work with federal and defense partners includes advancing to Stage B of DARPA's quantum benchmarking initiative and launching its IonQ Federal division.

The company previously achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate performance, which it described as a world record in quantum computing performance. IonQ also appointed former Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force, General John Raymond, to its Board of Directors.

IonQ operates quantum computing services through major cloud providers and serves customers including Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, and AstraZeneca. The company is headquartered in College Park, Maryland, with operations across multiple countries including the United States, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and the United Kingdom.