French quantum computing scale-up Pasqal started trading on Nasdaq on Friday, completing a deal with blank-check firm Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. II that leaves it with roughly €309M ($360M) in cash.
The listing, approved by Bleichroeder shareholders on August 25, wraps up a process announced in March that valued Pasqal at €1.7B ($2B) pre-money. Chief executive Wasiq Bokhari called the debut an acceleration point rather than a finish line.
Pasqal builds neutral-atom quantum computers that use laser-manipulated arrays of atoms. The fresh capital will go toward deploying its systems in customer environments, expanding manufacturing capacity and advancing a roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Co-founded in 2019 by a team that includes Nobel laureate Alain Aspect, who will chair the board in a non-executive role, Pasqal counts French public investment bank Bpifrance among its long-standing backers.
The IPO adds a sizeable new funding source to a European quantum sector that has already announced roughly €1.05B in financing this year, including rounds for Oxford Quantum Circuits, QuantWare, IQM Quantum Computers and Quobly.
