Pasqal’s $2B SPAC Listing Vows to ‘Stay French’
▼ Summary
– French quantum computing company Pasqal is going public via a SPAC merger with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp II, valued at $2 billion pre-money, and will list on Nasdaq.
– The company is pursuing a dual US-European listing, planning a Nasdaq float this year and an Euronext listing in 2026 or 2027, partly to reassure its French backers like Bpifrance.
– Pasqal is a full-stack quantum company generating tens of millions in annual revenue by selling hardware, software, and cloud services to labs and industry partners.
– The company is reaffirming its commitment to France, planning to remain headquartered there, hire 50 people locally, and appoint a French non-executive board chair.
– Pasqal, which uses a neutral atom quantum approach, plans to use the capital from the deal to invest heavily in R&D with the goal of developing a fault-tolerant quantum computer by the end of the decade.
The quantum computing sector continues to attract significant capital, with French quantum leader Pasqal announcing a $2 billion SPAC merger to list on the Nasdaq. This move follows a similar path taken recently by European rival IQM and underscores the intense competition and substantial funding required to advance this transformative technology. Alongside the public listing, Pasqal has secured a separate $200 million private investment round, providing a robust war chest for its ambitious development roadmap.
The company will merge with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp II, a special purpose acquisition company backed by French telecom veteran Michel Combes and investor Andrew Gundlach. This transaction values Pasqal at two billion dollars pre-money. While pursuing a U.S. listing for its scale and favorable revenue multiples, Pasqal emphasized a firm commitment to maintaining its French identity, with plans for a subsequent listing on the Euronext exchange in Paris by 2026 or 2027.
Headquartered in Palaiseau, a suburb of Paris rich with academic and industrial research centers, Pasqal intends to remain a French legal entity. The company reassured key national stakeholders, including public investment bank Bpifrance, which will retain an active role on the board. Pasqal also plans to appoint a new non-executive chair of French nationality. This dual-listing strategy and reaffirmed national ties are seen as crucial for maintaining domestic support and signaling that its growth will create high-skilled jobs locally, with plans to hire 50 people in France over the next year and a half.
The involvement of Michel Combes, who is set to become lead independent director, adds a complex layer. His reputation in France faced scrutiny following a controversial exit package from Alcatel-Lucent, which drew public criticism from then-Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron. However, his subsequent advocacy for French tech startups has helped rehabilitate his standing in some circles. Pasqal itself is familiar with leadership changes, noting in its announcement that former executive chairman Wasiq Bokhari is now CEO, while original CTO Loïc Henriet has returned to that role after serving as co-CEO and then sole CEO.
Maintaining a European base offers strategic advantages in the current geopolitical climate, potentially easing collaborations with government and defense entities, a benefit already observed by French AI lab Mistral AI. However, technological prowess remains the ultimate determinant of success. Pasqal is betting on its unique approach using neutral atom qubits, a method pioneered by its Nobel laureate co-founder Alain Aspect, as a competitor to the superconducting qubits favored by companies like IQM.
The company plans to direct its new capital toward aggressive research and development, targeting a fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2030. Achieving this milestone is critical for unlocking practical applications in fields such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and cybersecurity. The proceeds will also fund a goal to double production capacity within two years. Upon the deal’s expected close in the second half of 2026, Pasqal anticipates a pro-forma market capitalization of approximately $2.6 billion.
The concurrent $200 million private round attracted investments from Parkway, Quanta Computer, LG Electronics, and CMA CGM. They join an existing investor base that includes the European Innovation Council Fund, lead Series B investor Temasek, Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures, and ISAI. This combined financial backing positions Pasqal to continue its full-stack strategy of selling hardware, software, and cloud services, as it competes to define the future of quantum computation.
(Source: TechCrunch)
