IonQ is a quantum computing startup based in College Park, Maryland, that is developing the world’s most advanced quantum computer. Using a new approach called ion trapping, IonQ’s quantum cores point lasers at single-atom qubits to perform longer, more sophisticated calculations with fewer errors than any quantum computer yet built. The technology was developed by IonQ co-founder and chief scientist Chris Monroe in his pioneering work in quantum physics at the University of Maryland.

After decades of research, Monroe launched IonQ in 2015 with the goal of taking trapped ion computing out of the lab and into the market. The systems are made available to leading companies who are investigating problems in medicine, chemistry, energy, and logistics and other areas where conventional computers fall short. The startup has received $77 million in Series B funding and partnered in 2019 with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft to make its quantum computers accessible via the cloud.

Pentagram designed a brand identity inspired by the science behind quantum computing. The logo is a cube that doubles as a “Q” and suggests a quantum core. (The mark also visually resonates with “qubit,” the basic unit of quantum information.) In animations, the dimensional version of the logo is built of smaller atom-like cubes that break apart and reassemble, hinting at the power, flexibility and scalability of quantum computing.