Quantum chip company IonQ (NASDAQ:IONQ) says co-founder and chief science officer Chris Monroe is leaving to resume a research position at Duke University. This leaves IONQ stock investors uncertain.
Their initial reaction is to sell. IonQ stock fell 13% overnight, opening at about $11 per share, a market capitalization of $2.2 billion.
The move comes as IonQ transitions from a research-oriented to a product-oriented company. It recently announced two quantum computing systems, the Forte Enterprise and Tempo, for delivery next year.
A New IonQ Era
Until recently, quantum computing was a theoretical pursuit. Companies like IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL NASDAQ:GOOG) led the way with circuits that created qubits but didn’t harness them to perform more than arcane tasks.
The dream was that scalable quantum computers, based on the quantum states of matter rather than electric current, could take Moore’s Law into the mid-21st century. But it was just a dream.
Now, that dream is a reality. At the recent Quantum World Congress held near Washington, a European company called AQT joined IonQ in announcing real systems that can go directly into data centers.
It means IonQ, which expects revenue of just $16 million this year from research pursuits, will begin calling on real customers. It means the stock may be measured in terms of sales, maybe even profit margins. Taken together, it means the days of quantum computing as just a theoretical pursuit are ending, and those of quantum computing as a market are beginning.
Monroe, who co-founded IonQ in 2015, likely saw this handwriting on the wall. CEO Peter Chapman, who came to the company from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), will take IonQ forward alongside co-founder and CTO Jungsang Kim.
Monroe, who did some of his best work during the Covid-19 shutdown, is much more of a science guy than a business guy. At Duke, he’s in the right place for what he does best.
IONQ Stock: What Happens Next?
The coming era of quantum computing as a product creates uncertainty for IonQ. But this was the promise when it was founded.
It’s time to find out what the company is made of.
As of this writing, Dana Blankenhorn held LONG positions in GOOGL and AMZN. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
