Oxford Ionics Appoints Chris Goodings as VP Engineering

• Chris brings two decades of engineering experience to Oxford Ionics, and will oversee the company’s growing technical teams 

OXFORD, 18th October, 2024: Oxford Ionics, a world leader in trapped-ion quantum computing, today announced it has appointed Chris Goodings as its VP Engineering. Chris will oversee the company’s growing technical departments, including its Quantum Science & Engineering, Quantum Infrastructure, and Software Development teams. 

Chris has over two decades of experience managing high-performing engineering teams and implementing product roadmaps at disruptive businesses. With a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge, Chris has held senior positions at leading semiconductor companies, including NVIDIA and Graphcore. 

At Oxford Ionics, Chris will be responsible for the science and engineering teams as they execute an ambitious roadmap to build the world’s most powerful, commercially-valuable quantum computers. Oxford Ionics has grown to 60 employees worldwide across its main offices in Oxford, UK and Boulder, CO, and expects to triple headcount in the next 18 months. 

Chris’ appointment comes off the back of a landmark year for Oxford Ionics. Earlier this year, the company set world records in the three most important metrics for quantum computing performance: single gate fidelity, two-qubit gate fidelity, and quantum state preparation and measurement (SPAM). It also rapidly commercialised its quantum computers, selling systems to customers including the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and Germany’s Cyberagentur. 

Tom Harty, Oxford Ionics co-founder and CTO, commented: “I'm thrilled to have Chris Goodings joining as VP Engineering. As a founder of a deeptech business, one of the most important things you do is getting the right technical leadership and with Chris we have a world-class fit. He has an impressive track record of  bringing disruptive technologies to market at speed and scale — combined with our quantum expertise and vision, Chris will supercharge our engineering efforts. I'm excited to be working with him as we enter this next phase in our journey to build the world’s most powerful quantum computers.”

On his appointment, Chris Goodings commented: “From my first conversations with Oxford Ionics, I was struck by both the passion for innovation and the promise of its technology. The company is at the forefront of bringing market-catalysing quantum computers to life, and I am excited to be joining the team on the next stage of this journey. I’m looking forward to helping shape Oxford Ionics’ world-class science and engineering teams so that they continue to hit the engineering milestones required to bring quantum computing to commercial reality.”

About Oxford Ionics

Oxford Ionics was co-founded in 2019 by Dr Tom Harty and Dr Chris Ballance who both hold world records in quantum breakthroughs. The team includes 60 global experts across physics, quantum architecture, engineering and software and expects to triple headcount over the next 18 months as the business scales internationally. Oxford Ionics has raised £37 million to date with investors including Braavos, OSE, Lansdowne Partners, Prosus Ventures, 2xN, and Hermann Hauser (founder of chip giant ARM).

In 2024, Oxford Ionics rapidly commercialised its technology, selling full-stack quantum computers to the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and Germany’s Cyberagentur. The company also holds the world records in the three most important metrics for quantum performance: single- and two-qubit gate fidelity and quantum state preparation and measurement (SPAM).

For more information, visit our website www.oxionics.com