Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) entered into a quantum compute agreement with US-listed IonQ, providing Archer and its customers access to the IonQ Quantum Cloud for applications in defense, artificial intelligence, mining and resources, healthcare, and scientific research, according to a Wednesday Australian bourse filing.

The company said the agreement has an initial term of three years, with Archer to pay IonQ $250,000 on signing and $250,000 every six months thereafter for a total of $1.5 million, in exchange for access to IonQ's Quantum Cloud on an IonQ Forte-class system and subsequently the IonQ Tempo-class system, along with quantum simulator access and expert advisory and consulting services.

Under the agreement, Archer will build on its proprietary quantum applications via software and algorithm development, with the parties collaborating to assess the deployment of an IonQ quantum computer in Australia to establish a sovereign quantum computing capability onshore, the filing added.