IonQ Earns Four Best Paper Awards Ahead of IEEE Quantum Week 2026 for Breakthroughs in AI, Hybrid Computing, and Life Sciences

Recognized among 857 global submissions, IonQ and its commercial partners demonstrate the real-world application, efficiency, and breadth of trapped-ion quantum solutions.

COLLEGE PARK, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), the world’s leading full-stack quantum platform and foundry, today announced it has received four Best Paper Awards ahead of IEEE Quantum Week (QCE 2026; Sept. 13-18). IEEE is the premier international flagship conference for quantum computing and engineering. Selected from 857 global research submissions, IonQ’s four winning papers represent a significant portion of the conference's 27 Best Paper honors.

The awards highlight joint research projects conducted alongside leading enterprise customers and industry partners. Those partners include QuantumBasel, NVIDIA, Synopsys, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Kipu Quantum. The papers demonstrate how quantum-classical hybrid systems can accelerate complex computations. The research ranges from fine-tuning artificial intelligence models to protein folding and solving large-scale linear algebra calculations.

"Winning four Best Paper awards across distinct technical tracks reflects how IonQ is not just engineering world-class hardware, but also leading the industry in demonstrating practical, real-world utility," said Martin Roetteler, IonQ’s Vice President of Quantum Applications R&D. "By collaborating directly with our customers and partners, we are proving that quantum computing can solve high-impact problems across enterprise AI, life sciences, and advanced software engineering."

The four awarded papers span multiple technical tracks:

• AI-Accelerated Distributed Optimization (3rd Place, Quantum–GenAI Co-Design & Co-Discovery Track): Conducted with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and NVIDIA, the paper introduces "DQAOA-GPT.” This is a framework combining generative AI with distributed quantum algorithms to solve complex combinatorial optimization challenges.
• Quantum Fine-Tuning for AI (1st Place, Quantum Applications Track): Co-authored with QuantumBasel, this paper evaluates how quantum systems can fine-tune foundational AI models more accurately while reducing overall energy used.
• Quantum-Accelerated Linear Algebra (1st Place, Quantum End-to-End Hybrid Case Studies Track): Jointly developed with Synopsys, the research shows end-to-end performance gains when using quantum computing to accelerate large-scale linear algebra workflows. These workflows are essential for complex engineering simulations and modeling.
• 64-Qubit Protein Folding (3rd Place, Quantum End-to-End Hybrid Case Studies Track): Created in partnership with Kipu Quantum, this study details the execution of protein folding simulations on a 64-qubit trapped-ion processor. Counterdiabatic optimization was used to improve computational speed and accuracy in drug discovery.

IonQ researchers will present these four award-winning papers along with five additional accepted research papers at IEEE Quantum Week in Toronto, Sept. 13-18, 2026.

The complete list of IEEE Quantum Week 2026 Best Paper award recipients can be viewed here: https://qce.quantum.ieee.org/2026/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2026/08/QCE26-Best-Papers-v19.pdf.

About IonQ

IonQ, Inc. [NYSE: IONQ] is the world’s leading quantum platform and foundry - delivering integrated quantum solutions across computing, networking, sensing, and security. IonQ’s newest generation of quantum computers, the Superion, is the latest in a line of cutting-edge systems. Earlier systems have helped customers and partners including Amazon Web Services, AstraZeneca, and NVIDIA achieve a 20x performance increase over previous quantum solutions and accelerate innovation in drug discovery, materials science, financial modeling, logistics, cybersecurity, and defense. In 2025, the company achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, setting a world record in quantum computing performance.

Headquartered in College Park, Maryland, IonQ has operations across North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. Our quantum computing services have been available through all major cloud providers since 2021, while we also meet the needs of networking and sensing customers across land, sea, air, and space. IonQ is making quantum platforms more accessible and impactful than ever before. Learn more at IonQ.com.

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