David Chung helped IonQ go public at nearly triple the valuation of any other quantum computing IPO. Now he's back.
The Wall Street veteran, who positioned the company's IPO to raise over $650 million at a premium few quantum companies have matched, returned on August 12 as VP of Corporate Development. His arrival alongside three other vice presidents signals the company's conviction that its moonshot goal—building 2-million-qubit (quantum-bit) computers by 2030—is compelling enough to attract executives from Anduril, Flowserve, and SoFi.
Two million qubits would represent a staggering leap. Today's best quantum systems operate with hundreds of qubits. The company currently offers the Forte and Forte Enterprise systems, which have delivered 20× performance improvements for clients like AWS and AstraZeneca. But 2 million? That's a different universe entirely.
The Quantum Talent Bet
Why leave established companies for quantum's uncertain frontier?
Shad Reed departed Anduril Industries, where he scaled the Altius engineering team from prototype to production. The Air Force veteran with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering now leads IonQ's public-sector engineering push. His bet: quantum computing will transform defense and intelligence capabilities enough to justify the career pivot.
Petrina Zaraszczak managed billion-dollar P&Ls at Flowserve. Sterling Zumbrunn expanded SoFi's member base and product portfolio. Both are wagering their expertise on quantum's commercial viability.
"David, Shad, Petrina, and Sterling each bring a wealth of experience and proven leadership in their respective fields," said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ. "Their expertise will be instrumental in accelerating our corporate strategy, deepening our engagement with the public sector, optimizing our operational efficiency, and driving the development of our quantum networking solutions."
Reality Check on the Roadmap
The 2-million-qubit target isn't just ambitious—it's orders of magnitude beyond what other quantum companies are currently operating or planning. Reaching it would require solving engineering challenges the entire industry is still grappling with.
Yet the company has momentum. It earned recognition on Forbes' 2025 list of Most Successful Mid-Cap Companies and runs through major cloud providers. The recent hires of Paul Dacier, Dr. Marco Pistoia, and Dr. Rick Muller add deep technical expertise to back the business expansion.
Chung's return carries particular weight. Having seen the firm from the outside during its public offering—and knowing what convinced investors to value it so highly—he's chosen to rejoin. His track record includes over $5 billion in transactions and advisory work for 20+ companies across software and deep tech.
Beyond the Hype
The executives aren't just chasing qubits for bragging rights.
The applications they're targeting—drug discovery, materials science, cryptography—require quantum systems far more powerful than today's machines. The company says its networking advances position it to help build the quantum internet (a network where quantum computers can share information securely), though details remain sparse.
Competition intensifies daily. IBM pushes toward fault-tolerant systems that can run without errors. Google touts quantum-supremacy milestones—solving problems classical computers cannot. Startups proliferate with alternative approaches. The talent war reflects a broader race where being six months behind could mean irrelevance.
Reed's government experience could prove crucial. Federal agencies need quantum-safe cryptography before adversaries achieve quantum capabilities. His Anduril background—taking cutting-edge tech from lab to field—matches what's needed: turning quantum promise into operational reality.
Zaraszczak's operational expertise tackles a different challenge. Scaling from experimental systems to commercial products requires more than brilliant physics. It needs supply chains, quality control, and customer support—the unglamorous infrastructure of real businesses.
The 2030 deadline looms about five years away. The quantum industry has missed ambitious targets before. But with executives leaving secure posts at established companies to join this quest, they're betting that this time is different. Whether they're visionaries or optimists will become clear soon enough.
