Monday's tech sector meltdown, triggered by DeepSeek's AI breakthrough, caused collateral damage to share prices in the quantum computing space. When Nvidia plunged by 17% on fear

The quantum computing industry has been on fire in recent weeks, and much of the excitement has been fueled by Google’s (GOOGL) unveiling of Willow, a potentially revolutionary quantum chip. Google’s breakthrough has reignited interest in this state-of-the-art technology,

Last year, investors poured into artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, and the biggest players -- from Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) to Amazon -- helped the general market soar. Quantum computing harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems that classical computers can't handle.

Competition is already heating up, with many companies taking a unique approach to developing their quantum computers. One such company is IonQ ( IONQ -1.43%), a leading manufacturer of quantum computing systems. But is the stock a buy right now? Let's take a closer look.