IonQ (IONQ, Financials) said Wednesday it signed a distribution agreement with Toyota Tsusho Corporation to expand its quantum computing presence in Japan, marking the company's official entry into the country's emerging quantum market.
According to IonQ, the partnership with Toyota Tsusho — a member of the Toyota Group with annual revenue of about $70 billion — will allow the U.S. firm to introduce its quantum computing and networking systems to a wider range of Japanese industries. The companies have already secured their first local commercial agreement under the new collaboration, IonQ said in a statement.
Toyota Tsusho, which was established in 1948 as a trading arm for the Toyota Group, will leverage its existing customer network to offer IonQ's technologies. The company has been making inroads into the quantum computing space and views the new agreement as a way to unlock practical applications for clients across various sectors.
IonQ Chief Executive Niccolo de Masi said Japan's long-standing leadership in innovation makes it a natural fit for IonQ's global expansion strategy.
The announcement adds to IonQ's recent international initiatives, including the opening of the United States' first quantum manufacturing facility and partnerships across Europe and Asia. These include collaborations with Hyundai Motors, Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, and memoranda of understanding with South Korea's Busan and Japan's AIST.
The McKinsey & Co. consultancy estimates quantum computing could generate between $1 trillion and $2 trillion in value across industries by 2035, with Japan positioned as a major beneficiary.
