{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523", "docSlug": "340e94a59fc0", "documentTitle": "IonQ Inc. (IONQ)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "activist-deck", "documentKindLabel": "Activist deck", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2022-05-03 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.2941177, "pageNumber": 161, "pageCount": 183, "prevPage": 160, "nextPage": 162, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "dense", "nDataPoints": 0, "notes": "The slide uses a Q&A format to present testimony from a former employee, highlighting the contradiction between public PR and internal alleged practices.", "elementsJson": [ "paragraph", "screenshot", "quote_block", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 1, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523/161", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-1cc056790523#slide-161", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "They actually paid someone to do a deal with them, and Peter Chapman was saying that if you have to spend a lot of money to get a deal, that’s fine with me, I just want the signing.", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d2-7501-bd85-3efb4e1fe990", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.4, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.38 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "IonQ announcement Sep 2021\nIonQ and GE Research Partner to Explore How Quantum Computing Could Impact Risk Management.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "3194ffc0-7471-49c2-915f-f21019e326ab", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.35, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.58 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "Ex-employee alleged that IonQ’s CEO pushed to pay customers to do deals with IonQ\nA: “They actually paid someone to do a deal with them, and Peter Chapman was saying that if you have to spend a lot of money to get a deal, that’s fine with me, I just want the signing. I found that reprehensible, and that was Peter Chapman and his buddy at GE, [name redacted]. It was GE. They paid GE so that they could do a research project with them and make an announcement. So, they didn’t pay for revenue; they paid for an announcement or a collaboration. I would say it was $100k or less. It wasn’t that much money, but in my years in quantum, I have never ever seen anybody pay to do a deal, never. I view that as a new low.”\nQ: “And what did IonQ pay them for? What was the exchange?”\nA: “I think the exchange was they were supporting the headcount within GE to do the collaboration.”\nQ: “So, they were basically funding the people at GE to do the collaboration?”\nA: “Yes.”\nQ: “Prior to that, was GE not willing to do anything with IonQ?”\nA: “This was the Peter and the [GE individual, name redacted] brain trust. Like GE is not biting, so what do we have to do to make them bite? Oh, how about if we pay for the people, and that way, they’ll get interested in quantum. Oh, okay. We’re paying for it; we’re so clever.” - Former senior employee of IonQ", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ffaba063-50db-47dc-b8aa-f961fa0728f8", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "“They actually paid someone to do a deal with them, and Peter Chapman was saying that if you have to spend a lot of money to get a deal, that’s fine with me, I just want the signing. I found that reprehensible, and that was Peter Chapman and his buddy at GE, [name redacted]. It was GE. They paid GE so that they could do a research project with them and make an announcement. So, they didn’t pay for revenue; they paid for an announcement or a collaboration. I would say it was $100k or less. It wasn’t that much money, but in my years in quantum, I have never ever seen anybody pay to do a deal, never. I view that as a new low.” — Former senior employee of IonQ", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d2-7501-bd85-416e99cfe4a3", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.03, "w": 0.6, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.96 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: https://ionq.com/news/september-23-2021-ionq-ge-research-risk-management; Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "227cb02a-58a0-42a6-a3c4-e71b6f19caea", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.25, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.08 }, "kind": "title", "text": "An ex-senior employee alleged that IonQ’s CEO pushed to get “customers” by essentially paying them to do a deal, alleging GE as one example - “GE is not biting” - and describing a “whatever it takes” mentality. The ex-employee called it “reprehensible” and “a new low”: “in my years in quantum, I have never ever seen anybody pay to a deal, never.” Contrary to IonQ’s announcement of a “partnership” with GE, the ex-employee alleged that IonQ funded headcount at GE.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "headline", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "ef1c3875-c7c8-4b76-94d9-30ddffaec697", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [ { "name": "fraud-exposure", "slug": null, "matchId": "e4b25ec8-e4e9-4d13-a659-432dc084cf0b", "evidence": "The slide explicitly contrasts a public announcement with internal allegations of bribery/pay-to-play.", "confidence": 0.9 } ], "arcBeats": [], "loops": [], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }