Quantum computing startup IonQ is facing a securities fraud lawsuit after a barrage of accusations came to light in a blistering report from Scorpion Capital, which claims the company lied about the maturity (and even existence of) its quantum device in addition to a smattering of claimed financial fictions.
The Scorpion Capital report, issued May 3, provides a rigorously scathing assessment of the IonQ technology, which is described as “a useless toy that can’t even add 1+1” as assessed by internal experiments run by unnamed but numerous quantum experts hired by Scorpion and exhaustively detailed in the full report [PDF].
It’s not just the company’s technology on the chopping block, either. Scorpion Capital calls the startup “a part-time side-hustle run by two academics,” one of whom, CEO and founder, Peter Chapman, “appears to be making up his MIT educational credentials,” something we’ll get to momentarily.
Today, Los Angeles-based law firm Glancy Prongay & Murray announced it has filed a proposed class-action complaint against IonQ, built on and referencing the Scorpion report’s claims. The lawsuit seeks to represent those who invested in IonQ securities between March 30, 2021 and May 2, 2022. The complaint also includes a number of alleged misrepresentations and omissions in SEC and other company filings, as well as in marketing and website documents issued by the publicly traded IonQ.
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