IonQ (IONQ) 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

Exhibit 10.15

IONQ, INC.

STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE

(2015 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN)

ionQ, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), pursuant to its 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended, the “Plan”), hereby grants to Optionholder an option to purchase the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock set forth below. This option is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth in this notice and in the Option Agreement, the Plan, and the Notice of Exercise, all of which are attached to this notice and incorporated in this notice in their entirety.

Optionholder:

Date of Grant:

Vesting Commencement Date:

Number of Shares Subject to Option:

Exercise Price (Per Share):

Total Exercise Price:

Expiration Date:

Type of Grant:	☐ Incentive Stock Option1	☐ Nonstatutory Stock Option
Exercise Schedule:	☐ Same as Vesting Schedule	☐ Early Exercise Permitted
Vesting Schedule:	20% of the shares of Common Stock subject to the Option will become fully vested and exercisable on the first year anniversary date of the Vesting Commencement Date, and the remaining 80% of such shares will become fully vested and exercisable pro rata over the next four years on a monthly basis, with vesting to occur on the last day of each succeeding calendar month, subject in all cases to the Optionholder remaining in continuous service with the Company on each vesting date.
Payment:	By one or a combination of the following items (described in the Option Agreement):
	☒ By cash or check
	☐ Pursuant to a Regulation T Program if the Shares are publicly traded
	☐ By delivery of already-owned shares if the Shares are publicly traded
	☐ By net exercise

Additional Terms/Acknowledgements: The undersigned Optionholder acknowledges receipt of, and understands and agrees to, this Stock Option Grant Notice, the Option Agreement and the Plan. Optionholder further acknowledges that as of the Date of Grant, this Stock Option Grant Notice, the Option Agreement, and the Plan set forth the entire understanding between Optionholder and the Company regarding the acquisition of stock in the Company and supersede all prior oral and written agreements on that subject with the exception of (i) options previously granted and delivered to Optionholder under the Plan, and (ii) the following agreements only:

OTHER AGREEMENTS:

1 If this is an Incentive Stock Option, it (plus other outstanding Incentive Stock Options) cannot be first exercisable for more than $100,000 in value (measured by exercise price) in any calendar year. Any excess over $100,000 is a Nonstatutory Stock Option.

IONQ, INC.	OPTIONHOLDER:
By:
Name:	Name:
Title:	Date:
Date:

ATTACHMENTS: Option Agreement, 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and Notice of Exercise

ATTACHMENT I

OPTION AGREEMENT

ATTACHMENT II

2015 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

ATTACHMENT III

NOTICEOF EXERCISE

IONQ, INC.

2015 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

OPTION AGREEMENT

(INCENTIVE STOCK OPTIONOR NONSTATUTORY STOCK OPTION)

Pursuant to your Stock Option Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) and this Option Agreement, IonQ, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) has granted you an option under its 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to purchase the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock indicated in your Grant Notice at the exercise price indicated in your Grant Notice. Defined terms not explicitly defined in this Option Agreement but defined in the Plan will have the same definitions as in the Plan.

The details of your option are as follows:

1. VESTING. Subject to the limitations contained in this Option Agreement, your option will vest as provided in your Grant Notice, provided that vesting will cease upon the termination of your Continuous Service.

2. NUMBEROF SHARESAND EXERCISE PRICE. The number of shares of Common Stock subject to your option and your exercise price per share referenced in your Grant Notice may be adjusted from time to time for Capitalization Adjustments.

3. EXERCISE RESTRICTIONFOR NON-EXEMPT EMPLOYEES. In the event that you are an Employee eligible for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended (i.e., a “Non-Exempt Employee”), you may not exercise your option until you have completed at least six (6) months of Continuous Service measured from the Date of Grant specified in your Grant Notice, notwithstanding any other provision of your option.

4. EXERCISEPRIORTO VESTING (“EARLY EXERCISE”). If permitted in your Grant Notice (i.e., the “Exercise Schedule” indicates “Early Exercise Permitted”) and subject to the provisions of your option, you may elect at any time that is both (i) during the period of your Continuous Service and (ii) during the term of your option, to exercise all or part of your option, including the unvested portion of your option; provided, however, that:

(a) a partial exercise of your option will be deemed to cover first vested shares of Common Stock and then the earliest vesting installment of unvested shares of Common Stock;

(b) any shares of Common Stock so purchased from installments that have not vested as of the date of exercise will be subject to the purchase option in favor of the Company as described in the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement;

(c) you will enter into the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement with a vesting schedule that will result in the same vesting as if no early exercise had occurred; and

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(d) if your option is an Incentive Stock Option, then, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of the shares of Common Stock with respect to which your option plus all other Incentive Stock Options you hold are exercisable for the first time by you during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), your option(s) or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) will be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options.

5. METHODOF PAYMENT. Payment of the exercise price is due in full upon exercise of all or any part of your option. You may elect to make payment of the exercise price in cash or by check or in any other manner permitted by your Grant Notice, which may include one or more of the following:

(a) Provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in The Wall Street Journal, pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of Common Stock, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds.

(b) Provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in The Wall Street Journal, by delivery to the Company (either by actual delivery or attestation) of already-owned shares of Common Stock that are owned free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests, and that are valued at Fair Market Value on the date of exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may not exercise your option by tender to the Company of Common Stock to the extent such tender would violate the provisions of any law, regulation or agreement restricting the redemption of the Company’s stock.

6. WHOLE SHARES. You may exercise your option only for whole shares of Common Stock.

7. SECURITIES LAW COMPLIANCE. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Option Agreement, you may not exercise your option unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such exercise are then registered under the Securities Act or, if such shares of Common Stock are not then so registered, the Company has determined that such exercise and issuance would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The exercise of your option also must comply with other applicable laws and regulations governing your option, and you may not exercise your option if the Company determines that such exercise would not be in material compliance with such laws and regulations.

8. TERM. You may not exercise your option before the commencement or after the expiration of its term. The term of your option commences on the Date of Grant and expires upon the earliest of the following:

(a) immediately upon the termination of your Continuous Service for Cause;

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(b) three (3) months after the termination of your Continuous Service for any reason other than Cause or your Disability or death, provided that if during any part of such three (3) month period your option is not exercisable solely because of the condition set forth in the section above relating to “Securities Law Compliance,” your option will not expire until the earlier of the Expiration Date or until it will have been exercisable for an aggregate period of three (3) months after the termination of your Continuous Service;

(c) twelve (12) months after the termination of your Continuous Service due to your Disability;

(d) eighteen (18) months after your death if you die either during your Continuous Service or within three (3) months after your Continuous Service terminates;

(e) the Expiration Date indicated in your Grant Notice; or

(f) the day before the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Date of Grant.

If your option is an Incentive Stock Option, note that to obtain the federal income tax advantages associated with an Incentive Stock Option, the Code requires that at all times beginning on the date of grant of your option and ending on the day three (3) months before the date of your option’s exercise, you must be an employee of the Company or an Affiliate, except in the event of your death or your permanent and total disability, as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code. (The definition of disability in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code is different from the definition of the Disability under the Plan). The Company has provided for extended exercisability of your option under certain circumstances for your benefit but cannot guarantee that your option will necessarily be treated as an Incentive Stock Option if you continue to provide services to the Company or an Affiliate as a Consultant or Director after your employment terminates or if you otherwise exercise your option more than three (3) months after the date your employment with the Company or an Affiliate terminates.

9. EXERCISE.

(a) You may exercise the vested portion of your option (and the unvested portion of your option if your Grant Notice so permits) during its term by delivering a Notice of Exercise (in a form designated by the Company) together with the exercise price to the Secretary of the Company, or to such other person as the Company may designate, during regular business hours, together with such additional documents as the Company may then require.

(b) By exercising your option you agree that, as a condition to any exercise of your option, the Company may require you to enter into an arrangement providing for the payment by you to the Company of any tax withholding obligation of the Company arising by reason of (1) the exercise of your option, (2) the lapse of any substantial risk of forfeiture to which the shares of Common Stock are subject at the time of exercise, or (3) the disposition of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise.

(c) If your option is an Incentive Stock Option, by exercising your option you agree that you will notify the Company in writing within fifteen (15) days after the date of any disposition of any of the shares of the Common Stock issued upon exercise of your option that occurs within two (2) years after the date of your option grant or within one (1) year after such shares of Common Stock are transferred upon exercise of your option.

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(d) By exercising your option you agree that you will not sell, transfer, make any short sale of, grant any option for the purchase of, or enter into any hedging or similar transaction with the same economic effect as a sale, any Common Stock (or other securities) of the Company held by you (i) during the 180-day period following the effective date of the Company’s first firm commitment underwritten public offering of the Common Stock registered under the Securities Act. (or such longer period, not to exceed 34 days after the expiration of the 180-day period, as the underwriters or the Company will request in order to facilitate compliance with NASD Rule 2711 or NYSE Member Rule 472 or any successor or similar rule or regulation), and (ii) the 90-day period following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act (or such longer period, not to exceed 34 days after the expiration of the 90-day period, as the underwriters or the Company will request in order to facilitate compliance with NASD Rule 2711 or NYSE Member Rule 472 or any successor or similar rule or regulation, the “Lock-Up Period”); provided, however, that nothing contained in this section will prevent the exercise of a repurchase option, if any, in favor of the Company during the Lock-Up Period. You further agree to execute and deliver such other agreements as may be reasonably requested by the Company and/or the underwriter(s) that are consistent with the foregoing or that are necessary to give further effect thereto. In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to your shares of Common Stock until the end of such period. The underwriters of the Company’s stock are intended third party beneficiaries of this Section 9(d) and will have the right, power and authority to enforce the provisions hereof as though they were a party hereto.

10. TRANSFERABILITY. Your option is not transferable, except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and is exercisable during your life only by you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may designate a third party who, in the event of your death, will thereafter be entitled to exercise your option. In addition, if permitted by the Company you may transfer your option to a trust if you are considered to be the sole beneficial owner (determined under Section 671 of the Code and applicable state law) while the option is held in the trust, provided that you and the trustee enter into a transfer and other agreements required by the Company.

11. RIGHTOF FIRST REFUSAL. Shares of Common Stock that you acquire upon exercise of your option are subject to any right of first refusal that may be described in the Company’s bylaws in effect at such time the Company elects to exercise its right; provided, however, that if your option is an Incentive Stock Option and the right of first refusal described in the Company’s bylaws in effect at the time the Company elects to exercise its right is more beneficial to you than the right of first refusal described in the Company’s bylaws on the Date of Grant, then the right of first refusal described in the Company’s bylaws on the Date of Grant will apply. The Company’s right of first refusal will expire on the first date upon which any security of the Company is listed (or approved for listing) upon notice of issuance on a national securities exchange or quotation system.

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12. RIGHTOF REPURCHASE.

(a) Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in Section 10(f) of the Plan, the Company will have the right to repurchase all or any part of the shares of Common Stock you acquire pursuant to the exercise of your option.

(b) In addition, the Company will have the right to repurchase all or any part of the shares of Common Stock received pursuant to the exercise of your option (a “Repurchase Right”), prior to the Listing Date as defined in the Plan, on the terms and conditions below.

(c) The Company may elect (but is not obligated), prior to the Listing Date as defined in the Plan, to repurchase all or any part of the vested and unvested shares of Common Stock you received pursuant to this option. If, from time to time, there is any dividend, split or other change in the character or amount of any of the outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company which are subject to the provisions of this option, then in such event any and all new, substituted or additional securities to which you are entitled by reason of your ownership or the shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of this option will be immediately subject to this Repurchase Right with the same force and effect as the shares of Common Stock subject to this Repurchase Right immediately before such event.

(d) The Company’s Repurchase Right will be exercisable only within the ninety (90) day period following a Repurchase Event, or such longer period as may be required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes or as otherwise agreed to by the Company and you (“Repurchase Period”). Each of the following events will constitute a “Repurchase Event:”

(i) Termination of your Continuous Service for any reason or no reason, with or without cause, including death or Disability, in which event the Repurchase Period will commence on the date of termination of your Continuous Service (or in the case of a post-termination exercise of this option, the date of such exercise).

(ii) You, your legal representative, or other holder of shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of this option attempts to sell, exchange, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose of any of the shares of Common Stock without compliance with the right of first refusal provisions contained in the Company’s bylaws, if applicable, in which event the Repurchase Period will commence on the date the Company receives actual notice of such attempted sale, exchange, transfer, pledge or other disposition.

(iii) The receivership, bankruptcy, or other creditor’s proceeding regarding you or the taking of any of the shares of Common Stock by legal process, such as a levy of execution, in which event the Repurchase Period will commence on the date the Company receives actual notice of the commencement of pendency of the receivership, bankruptcy or other creditor’s proceeding or the date of such taking, as the case may be, and the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock will be determined as of the last day of the month preceding the month in which the proceeding involved commenced or the taking occurred.

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(e) The Company will not exercise its Repurchase Right for less than all of the shares of Common Stock without your consent, will exercise its Repurchase Right only for cash or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness for the shares of Common Stock and will give you written notice (accompanied by payment for the shares of Common Stock) within ninety (90) calendar days after the later of the Repurchase Event or a proper purchase of shares of Common Stock following such Repurchase Event (including after any extension of the Repurchase Period to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes).

(f) The repurchase price for vested shares of Common Stock will be equal to the Fair Market Value at the time of the Repurchase Event. The Company may repurchase unvested shares of Common Stock at a price equal to the lesser of the Fair Market Value or your exercise price for such shares of Common Stock as indicated on the Option Grant Notice.

(g) To ensure that the shares of Common Stock subject to the Company’s Repurchase Right will be available for repurchase, the Company may require you to deposit the certificate evidencing the shares of Common Stock that you purchase upon exercise of this option with an agent designated by the Company under the terms and conditions of an escrow agreement approved by the Company. If the Company does not require such deposit as a condition of exercise of this option, the Company reserves the right at any time to require you to so deposit the certificate in escrow. As soon as practicable after the expiration of this Repurchase Right, the agent will deliver to you the shares of Common Stock and any other property no longer subject to such restriction. In the event the shares of Common Stock and any other property held in escrow are subject to the Company’s exercise of its Repurchase Right, the notices required to be given to you will be given to the escrow agent, and any payment required to be given to you will be given to the escrow agent. Within thirty (30) days after payment by the Company for the shares of Common Stock, the escrow agent will deliver the shares of Common Stock that the Company has purchased to the Company and will deliver the payment received from the Company to you.

13. OPTIONNOTA SERVICE CONTRACT. Your option is not an employment or service contract, and nothing in your option will be deemed to create in any way whatsoever any obligation on your part to continue in the employ of the Company or an Affiliate, or of the Company or an Affiliate to continue your employment. In addition, nothing in your option will obligate the Company or an Affiliate, their respective stockholders, Boards of Directors, Officers or Employees to continue any relationship that you might have as a Director or Consultant for the Company or an Affiliate.

14. WITHHOLDING OBLIGATIONS.

(a) At the time you exercise your option, in whole or in part, or at any time thereafter as requested by the Company, you hereby authorize withholding from payroll and any other amounts payable to you, and otherwise agree to make adequate provision for (including by means of a “cashless exercise” pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board to the extent permitted by the Company), any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or an Affiliate, if any, which arise in connection with the exercise of your option.

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(b) Upon your request and subject to approval by the Company, in its sole discretion, and compliance with any applicable legal conditions or restrictions, the Company may withhold from fully vested shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to you upon the exercise of your option a number of whole shares of Common Stock having a Fair Market Value, determined by the Company as of the date of exercise, not in excess of the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law (or such lower amount as may be necessary to avoid classification of your option as a liability for financial accounting purposes). If the date of determination of any tax withholding obligation is deferred to a date later than the date of exercise of your option, share withholding pursuant to the preceding sentence will not be permitted unless you make a proper and timely election under Section 83(b) of the Code, covering the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise with respect to which such determination is otherwise deferred, to accelerate the determination of such tax withholding obligation to the date of exercise of your option. Notwithstanding the filing of such election, shares of Common Stock will be withheld solely from fully vested shares of Common Stock determined as of the date of exercise of your option that are otherwise issuable to you upon such exercise. Any adverse consequences to you arising in connection with such share withholding procedure will be your sole responsibility.

(c) You may not exercise your option unless the tax withholding obligations of the Company and/or any Affiliate are satisfied. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise your option when desired even though your option is vested, and the Company will have no obligation to issue a certificate for such shares of Common Stock or release such shares of Common Stock from any escrow provided for in this Option Agreement unless such obligations are satisfied.

15. TAX CONSEQUENCES. You hereby agree that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Plan or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes your tax liabilities. You will not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates related to tax liabilities arising from your option or your other compensation. In particular, you acknowledge that this option is exempt from Section 409A of the Code only if the exercise price per share specified in the Grant Notice is at least equal to the “fair market value” per share of the Common Stock on the Date of Grant and there is no other impermissible deferral of compensation associated with the option. Because the Common Stock is not traded on an established securities market, the Fair Market Value is determined by the Board, perhaps in consultation with an independent valuation firm retained by the Company. You acknowledge that there is no guarantee that the Internal Revenue Service will agree with the valuation as determined by the Board, and you will not make any claim against the Company, or any of its Officers, Directors, Employees or Affiliates in the event that the Internal Revenue Service asserts that the valuation determined by the Board is less than the “fair market value” as subsequently determined by the Internal Revenue Service.

16. NOTICES. Any notices provided for in your option or the Plan will be given in writing and will be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in the case of notices delivered by mail by the Company to you, five (5) days after deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to you at the last address you provided to the Company.

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17. GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT. Your option is subject to all the provisions of the Plan, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your option, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations, which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of your option and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will control.

18. STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT. As a condition to the exercise of your option, you will be required to execute and become a party to any stockholders agreement, voting agreement, right of first refusal and co-sale agreement or similar agreement among the stockholders of the Company. To the extent any provision of this Agreement may be deemed inconsistent or in contravention of any provision in such other agreements, then such other agreements will take precedence and will govern and will cover the shares of Common Stock underlying your options.

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