Hyundai, Kia and GV are contributing to a $350 PIPE in support of a reverse merger that will value the Maryland and Duke-linked company at $2bn.

IonQ, a US-based quantum computing technology developer exploiting University of Maryland and Duke University research, agreed yesterday to list through a reverse takeover. The company is merging with dMY Technology Group, a special purpose acquisition company that floated on the New York Stock Exchange in a $275m initial public offering in November 2020. The combined business will have a pro forma implied valuation of $2bn. The transaction will be supported by $350m in private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing from investors including carmaker Hyundai Motor Company, its Kia subsidiary and GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet. Investment and financial services group Fidelity Management & Research, Silver Lake, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, MSD Partners, Time Ventures and existing backers including New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Mubadala Capital are also part of the PIPE. IonQ has created a 32-qubit quantum computer it claims is the world’s most powerful quantum system. It had disclosed a total of $77m in funding as of a $55m round co-led by consumer electronics producer Samsung’s Catalyst Fund in late 2019. The round was co-led by Mubadala Capital and included spinout-focused venture capital fund Osage University Partners (OUP) as well as GV and e-commerce group Amazon. Enterprise technology producer Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Hewlett Packard Pathfinder unit and Airbus Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of aerospace manufacturer Airbus, NEA, Acme Capital, Tao Capital Partners, Correlation Ventures and A&E Investment also took part. The company had secured $20m in a 2017 series B round co-led by GV and existing backer NEA that also featured unnamed strategic investors, and OUP and Amazon were named as existing investors in the later round. Peter Chapman, president and chief executive of IonQ, said: “This transaction advances IonQ’s mission, to solve critical problems that impact nearly every aspect of society. “With our key strategic partners, such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, we look forward to leveraging the power of quantum computing in the fight against climate change and to solve vexing problems from materials design to logistics that impact the transportation industry.” – A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

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