Pasqal said its new financing would be primarily invested in its infrastructure in France in order to accelerate research and development, and strengthen its industrial capabilities.
French quantum computing company Pasqal has raised around €340m from two avenues in advance of a planned dual public listing in 2026 and 2027 facilitated by a ‘merger’ with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Bleichroeder.
The SPAC deal values Pasqal at $2bn in advance of a planned Nasdaq listing this year and a planned Euronext listing either this year or next. The deal will account for half the funding total raised, with the other €170m coming from assorted private investors.
Pasqal said its new financing would be primarily invested in its infrastructure in France in order to accelerate research and development, and strengthen its industrial capabilities.
Its plans include doubling production capacity within 24 months, growing its workforce by nearly 20pc with 50 new hires over the next 18 months, and investing in R&D toward developing “an advanced fault-tolerant quantum computer by the end of the decade”.
Pasqal, founded in 2019 and headquartered in suburbs south of Paris, builds “high-performance quantum systems and cloud-ready software designed to address complex challenges in optimisation, simulation and AI”.
It claims to be “a leader in the industrialisation of neutral-atom quantum computing”, employing 275 and serving 25 clients such as Nvidia, IBM and Thales. It is also part of IBM’s quantum network, and has raised over $300m to date.
Outside France, it also has a presence in the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Its work is based on the Nobel-prize winning research of one of its co-founders, Dr Alain Aspect.
The company said that after the SPAC deal, it would appoint a “new non-executive chair of French nationality”, remain a French legal entity, and consolidate its French roots despite international expansion.
New and existing investors in Pasqal include Parkway, LG, Bpifrance, the European Innovation Council Fund and Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures.
Bleichroeder is a ‘blank check’ company with the purpose of “effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganisation or similar business combination with one or more businesses”.
Last week, Finland’s IQM revealed plans to be the first European quantum company to go public via SPAC.
In Ireland, interest in the quantum computing sector features at both private and public levels.
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