Dr. Chris Ballance is Co-Founder and CEO of Oxford Ionics, a world-leading trapped-ion quantum computing company spun out of the University of Oxford's Department of Physics.

Chris earned his PhD at the University of Oxford, where he spent nearly a decade at the forefront of quantum computing research alongside co-founder Dr. Tom Harty, pioneering a novel trapped-ion approach to qubit control.

Chris developed a breakthrough technique using electric fields to trap individual ions above semiconductor chips, marrying large-scale chip fabrication with precise quantum control and setting world records in single-qubit, two-qubit gate fidelity, and quantum state preparation.

Since co-founding Oxford Ionics in 2019, Chris scaled the company to over 80 employees globally, raised over £30M in Series A funding led by Oxford Science Enterprises and Braavos, and retains a lead research role at Oxford University Physics.

Oxford Ionics was acquired by IonQ in 2025 for approximately $1.08B, the largest quantum computing acquisition to date, with Chris and Tom continuing to lead the business as part of IonQ's global quantum roadmap.