Paris-based PASQAL announced that it has raised €100 million, marking the largest private funding round for a quantum computer startup in Europe, according to CEO Georges-Olivier Reymond.
The investment comes at a time when the stock prices of three New York-listed quantum computer makers have collapsed. The sector has seen better days in terms of funding. PASQAL intends to use the money to deliver major commercial advantages over classical computers by next year.
“As the other companies will probably struggle to find cash and so forth, maybe it’s a good opportunity for us to take the talents that are available”, Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO and co-founder of PASQAL, told Reuters. The company plans to double its headcount to about 200 this year.
PASQAL
PASQAL already made a name for itself by selling two quantum computers to high-performance centers in France and Germany. One of the company’s founders, Alain Aspect, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments in quantum mechanics that laid the foundation for quantum computing.
Quantum computers have the potential to calculate millions of times faster than the fastest supercomputers today. PASQAL’s quantum computer can solve complex financial optimization problems as accurately as classical computers, and the company hopes to demonstrate an advantage soon.
“When we release the next generation of devices with hundreds of qubits, hopefully 1,000, showcasing a true quantum advantage with this technology, that will be the inflection point in revenue”, Reymond said. The number of qubits, or quantum bits, indicates a quantum computer’s power. PASQAL’s most recent system has 350 qubits.
Major investors
The funding round was led by a new investor, Singapore’s state-owned Temasek. Other investors include the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures and Bpifrance.
PASQAL’s innovative approach and promising developments have caught the attention of heavy-hitting financiers, who believe in the company’s potential to revolutionize the industry.
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