Pasqal, co-founded by Alain Aspect and Antoine Browaeys, makes its Nasdaq debut

Founded in 2019, Pasqal has established itself as one of France’s leading companies in the field of quantum computing. The company was co-founded by Alain Aspect—co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on quantum entanglement and professor emeritus at École Polytechnique—and Antoine Browaeys, a physicist, CNRS Silver Medalist, and lecturer at École Polytechnique. The connection with École Polytechnique is thus at the heart of the scientific history of this company, which has its roots in French research.

The technology developed by Pasqal is based on neutral atoms, which are manipulated by lasers to form the qubits of quantum processors. This approach makes it possible, in particular, to operate the systems at room temperature and is one of the major areas of development in large-scale quantum computing.

After several years of development and fundraising, Pasqal is taking a new step forward with its entry into the U.S. market. The company has completed its merger with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. II, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), enabling Pasqal Holding SA to become a publicly traded company. 

Its shares have been trading on the Nasdaq since August 28 under the ticker symbol PSQL. The transaction provides the company with approximately $360 million in cash, which will be used primarily to finance its industrial and commercial expansion.

This transaction values Pasqal at approximately $2 billion and marks a major milestone for a company that aims to transition from a phase of experimentation and deployment of its first machines to a new phase of industrialization. The funds raised will be used, in particular, to increase the production and deployment of its quantum processing units, to continue its roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing, and to strengthen its international business development. 

Pasqal’s listing on the Nasdaq comes at a time when the company already has an international commercial presence. The company has more than 25 clients and partners, including CMA CGM, Thales, EDF, Crédit Agricole, OVHcloud, IBM, Nvidia, and Siemens. It has already deployed several quantum systems and continues to develop applications in fields such as optimization and simulation.

The company now plans to accelerate the scaling up of its technology while continuing its research on the next generations of quantum processors. Among its goals is the development of systems capable, eventually, of achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing.

For École Polytechnique, Pasqal’s journey illustrates the ability of French scientific research to give rise to disruptive technologies and companies with a global reach. The presence of Alain Aspect, professor emeritus at École Polytechnique and non-executive chairman of Pasqal’s board of directors since the company’s listing on the Nasdaq, as well as that of Antoine Browaeys, one of the school’s co-founders and faculty members, underscores the role of École Polytechnique’s research and education in this entrepreneurial and scientific endeavor.