The recent news that IonQ has acquired Oxford Ionics should give us pause. On the one hand it is a testament to the world-class foundations the UK has built in quantum computing. On the other it adds to a worrying pattern: Britain’s most promising deeptech companies being absorbed by overseas giants before they can achieve escape velocity on their own. This trend matters. Quantum computing promises transformational impact across every major sector of our economy from drug discovery to defence. Yet if our homegrown pioneers are snapped up at an early stage, we risk relinquishing control of the critical intellectual property and industrial capability that they represent. From my own experience founding Universal Quantum and authoring the first blueprint for a large-scale trapped-ion quantum computer, I know what it takes to design and engineer these systems. It requires not only world-leading scientific talent but also access to long-horizon capital, stable procurement pipelines and a commercial environment that rewards bold, patient investment. In the United States, DeepTech startups benefit from defence contracts that underwrite multi-year R&D, and from investors more comfortable with the scale of ambition and risk involved in these long-term projects. This ecosystem allows companies to retain ownership of their innovations as they scale.

Full opinion : Dr Sebastian Weidt. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Universal Quantum writes about the future of quantum computing startups in United Kingdom and Europe.