Is IonQ Stock Your Ticket to Becoming a Millionaire?

If you want to win big in the market, you're sometimes going to have to take risks. And if you're looking for a stock with millionaire-making potential, often the best place to look is an emerging industry with enormous growth potential.

One such potential industry is quantum computing. While the technology is still far away from commercialization, it may be closer to reality than many people think. In fact, last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang changed his outlook on the timeline of quantum computing, saying the technology was near an inflection point. Meanwhile, many huge tech companies are dabbling in quantum computing, viewing it as the next big potential breakthrough after artificial intelligence (AI).

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The allure of quantum computing is that it can perform calculations exponentially faster than traditional computing, opening the possibility of solving complex problems that even the world's most powerful supercomputers currently cannot crack. This approach could lead to breakthroughs in areas like drug discovery and material science.

However, one of the biggest obstacles facing the industry is that it is error-prone. Because quantum computers use qubits instead of classical bits, the machines are much more sensitive to outside forces. Qubits are in a state of superposition, meaning they can become either a 0 or a 1 until acted on, so something as small as a vibration or temperature change can cause an error.

A leader in accuracy

When it comes to quantum computing accuracy, one of the companies furthest along is IonQ (NYSE: IONQ). The company has taken a different approach than many competitors, opting for a trapped-ion approach that uses actual atoms rather than artificial qubits. Because atoms are identical by nature, they tend to be more stable. Meanwhile, with its acquisition of Oxford Ionics, the company was able to remove the large lasers needed to hold its qubits in place by integrating microwave electronics into its chips, improving their stability. This innovation helped the company achieve 99.99% 2-gate fidelity, which is one of the highest in the industry.

Two-gate fidelity of 99.99% is an important milestone, as error-correction software can better keep pace with the errors that the hardware is making. Meanwhile, IonQ is advancing quantum error correction, in which the system can act as a whole to maintain correct information when some qubits fail.

While IonQ remains a speculative investment, it could be one of the smartest long-term bets in the quantum space, given how far ahead it is with accuracy. Meanwhile, the move to integrate microwave electronics into its chips also helps shrink its machines and allows for eventual scaling. A huge, laser-based system would likely not be economically viable, so this is also another big advantage. If IonQ can be one of the first companies whose machines attain a quantum advantage, its stock could have massive potential upside.

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends IonQ and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.