WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission has ended its antitrust review of IonQ Inc.’s proposed acquisition of SkyWater Technology Inc., allowing the quantum computing transaction to proceed after commissioners split over whether the merger posed short-term competitive risks requiring regulatory safeguards.
FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said he did not support granting early termination outright, arguing the agency had “reason to believe” the vertical merger “may be substantially to lessen competition” in the near term, even while likely producing long-term benefits for competition and innovation. He said he instead favored a behavioral remedy that would have addressed those risks while permitting the acquisition to close.
“I did not prefer this outcome,” Ferguson wrote, explaining that the Commission lacked sufficient support either to block the merger or to adopt the proposed settlement. “Early termination was therefore the only course available to the Commission.”
The proposed acquisition combines IonQ, a quantum computing developer, with SkyWater, a U.S.-based semiconductor foundry that manufactures specialized chips for multiple quantum computing companies.
Ferguson said FTC staff identified two principal competitive concerns: that IonQ could restrict rivals’ access to SkyWater’s manufacturing services after the acquisition, or gain access to competitors’ confidential technical information through SkyWater’s customer relationships. He argued either outcome could slow research in an industry with significant national security implications.
“If all of these harms were to come to pass,” Ferguson wrote, “the consequences could be profound.” He added that “ceding our nation’s lead in quantum computing could jeopardize our national security.”
Rather than seeking to block the transaction, Ferguson said he supported a consent order that would have required equal treatment for competing customers, established information firewalls, required assistance for customers switching foundries, mandated arbitration of disputes and imposed independent compliance monitoring. The Commission did not approve that proposal.
Commissioner Mark R. Meador reached the opposite conclusion on the competitive evidence, writing that the investigation “suggests that the transaction would be procompetitive or competitively neutral in its effects.”
Meador concluded SkyWater lacks sufficient market power for the merger to substantially foreclose competition and said competing quantum developers have multiple fabrication alternatives. He also cited expanding federal investment in domestic quantum manufacturing as reducing the likelihood of lasting competitive harm.
“I cannot support what would amount to a regulatory intervention by the Commission into a highly competitive and dynamic innovation market,” Meador wrote.
Despite their disagreement, both commissioners concluded the merger should proceed. Ferguson said blocking the acquisition would have sacrificed potential efficiencies and innovation gains, while Meador concluded the evidence did not support a finding that the deal was likely to substantially lessen competition.
The FTC announced Friday that it had granted early termination of its review, clearing the way for IonQ to complete its proposed acquisition of SkyWater.
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