The Northwest Quantum Nexus (NQN) connects industry, research institutions, government, and workforce organizations across the Pacific Northwest to build a regional quantum economy. This brief tracks quantum developments from the last 48 hours --- with priority coverage of news relevant to the Northwest ecosystem.
📍 NORTHWEST
IonQ Posts $130M in 2025 Revenue --- 202% Year-Over-Year Growth
February 25, 2026 · Bothell, WA
The biggest local quantum story of the week. IonQ --- which manufactures quantum computers out of its Bothell facility --- reported $130 million in full-year 2025 GAAP revenue, the first time any quantum company has crossed the $100M mark. Q4 alone came in at $61.9 million, 55% above their own guidance midpoint. The company is guiding 2026 revenue to $225--245 million and is proceeding with its planned acquisition of SkyWater Technology, a U.S.-based chip foundry, to fully onshore its supply chain. IonQ now describes itself as the world's first full-stack quantum platform company, spanning computing, networking, sensing, and security. The Bothell facility is IonQ's primary U.S. manufacturing hub and its second quantum data center --- a direct and growing Northwest anchor in the national quantum industry.
→ IonQ Q4 2025 Earnings Release
🇺🇸 NATIONAL
Two Quantum Companies Cross the Revenue Threshold in the Same Week
February 26, 2026
D-Wave reported full-year 2025 results on February 26 --- $24.6 million in revenue, a 179% year-over-year increase, with Q4 bookings up 471% quarter-over-quarter. More telling: as of February 25, D-Wave has already booked more than $32.8 million in Q1 2026 alone, including a $10 million QCaaS enterprise license with a Fortune 100 company and a $20 million system purchase by Florida Atlantic University. Taken together with IonQ's $130M milestone, this marks the first time two quantum companies have reported major commercial revenue milestones in the same reporting window --- a meaningful signal that quantum is developing a real market, not just a research pipeline.
→ D-Wave Q4 2025 Earnings Release
DOE Quantum Centers Hit Scalability Milestone for Ion-Trap Systems
February 26, 2026 · Fermilab / MIT Lincoln Laboratory
A collaboration between two DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Centers --- the Quantum Science Center (led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory) and the Quantum Systems Accelerator --- enabled Fermilab and MIT Lincoln Laboratory to successfully control ion traps using in-vacuum cryoelectronics. By placing ultra-low-power circuits inside the cryogenic environment rather than routing wiring from room temperature, researchers demonstrated a promising path toward scaling ion-trap systems to the millions of qubits needed for advanced applications. PNNL is a core partner in the DOE quantum center ecosystem, and IonQ's Bothell facility is built around trapped-ion technology --- making this finding directly relevant to the Northwest.
Telecoms Urged to Act Now on Quantum Security
February 27, 2026
A new industry study from RCRTech and VIAVI Solutions --- drawing on over 100 telecom leaders --- found that awareness of 'Q-Day' is high, but action is slow. The report frames quantum-safe security as an immediate business risk, not a future research problem, and calls on communications service providers to implement quantum-resistant measures and build actionable roadmaps now. Relevant context for NQN members in enterprise, government, and infrastructure sectors.
🌍 INTERNATIONAL
France Declares Ambition to Make Europe a 'Quantum Power'
February 27, 2026 · New Delhi / Paris
French President Macron used the AI Action Summit in New Delhi to position France and India as a 'third force' in AI and quantum --- explicitly aiming to build strategic autonomy beyond the U.S.--China axis. He cited four French companies each developing distinct quantum computing platforms, and called it part of France's ambition to make Europe a quantum power. Separately, Orange Business and Cisco launched post-quantum cryptography-secured network services targeting enterprise and public-sector clients --- one of the first commercial PQC deployments at this scale in Europe. The geopolitical framing is notable: quantum is increasingly being positioned as sovereign infrastructure, not just commercial technology.
→ French National Quantum Update --- The Quantum Insider
Quantonation Closes €220M Fund --- World's Largest Dedicated Quantum VC
February 22, 2026 · Paris
Paris-based Quantonation closed its second fund at €220 million --- more than double its debut €91 million fund, which returned top-quartile performance. The fund focuses on quantum infrastructure and error correction, and makes Quantonation the largest dedicated quantum investment firm globally by assets under management. The close signals that institutional capital is treating quantum as a serious investment category, not a speculative bet. For NQN, this is a useful data point for the investor conversation at Northwest Quantum Day.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | SAVE THE DATE --- Northwest Quantum Day | | | | April 14, 2026 • K&L Gates, 925 4th Ave, Seattle, WA • 9am--3pm | | | | Register: luma.com/eu33k4nr | +=======================================================================+