European Quantum Startups Pasqal and Qu&Co Announce Merger

Pasqal, a French developer of neutral atom-based quantum technology, and Qu&Co, a Dutch quantum algorithm and software developer, have announced a merger to help businesses gain a competitive advantage through quantum computing by combining their complementary solutions.

The united business, which will be named Pasqal and will be located in Paris, will offer a 1000-qubit quantum solution in 2023, according to the disclosed roadmaps of these sophisticated quantum platforms. Financial terms and shareholder specifications of the deal were not disclosed.

Qu&Co’s extensive quantum algorithm portfolio will be tightly integrated with Pasqal’s quantum hardware. Customers including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Johnson & Johnson, LG, Airbus, BMW Group, EDF, Thales, MBDA, and Credit Agricole CIB would be able to benefit from the merger. In chemistry, health sciences, automotive, electronics, utilities, aerospace, defense, finance, and other industries, the united business will provide a comprehensive variety of quantum solutions.

“Leveraging the synergies of the two companies will further strengthen our full-stack, neutral-atom solution in achieving near-term commercial benefit,” said Georges-Olivier Reymond, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Pasqal.

“Qu&Co’s technology and exceptional talent base has proven itself across several industries and will allow us to solidify our position as a global quantum computing leader. Our combined platform will be made available through the cloud to all partners in the Pasqal ecosystem, including clients, software developers and others.”

Mr. Reymond will continue to lead the merged firm as CEO, while Benno Broer, the CEO of Qu&Co, will become Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Broer, who has over 15 years of business development expertise, is also Vice President of the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuiC).

Joint Quantum Research

Photo Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO at Pasqal
“Our combined quantum computing platform will be made available through the cloud to all partners in the Pasqal ecosystem, including clients, software developers and others,” said Georges-Olivier Reymond, CEO at Pasqal.

The merged business will operate in seven countries and employ people from more than 15 countries, with the help of an academic advisory board that includes prominent experts in quantum chemistry and quantum machine learning. Pasqal Netherlands, Pasqal Germany, Pasqal UK, and Pasqal Spain will continue Qu&Co’s pan-European efforts.

“Working with Pasqal on joint research convinced us their neutral atom technology is the best solution to attain real-world commercial applications in quantum computing,” said Benno Broer. “We were impressed by the performance of our algorithms on their hardware and the many significant contributions the company has made in the quantum industry.”

Pasqal’s quantum computing technology uses optical ‘tweezers’ to manipulate neutral atoms (atoms with the same amount of electrons and protons) and laser light to create full-stack computers with high connectivity and scalability. Its software-agnostic quantum processing units can run at ambient temperature and consume less energy, allowing it to solve complicated problems faster than traditional computers.

Pasqal’s algorithms for optimization problems and quantum machine learning are enabled by its Pulser coding platform, which enables the control of neutral atoms-based processors at the level of laser pulses. Qu&Co’s algorithm portfolio includes problem-solving tools for computational finance, fluid dynamics, and chemistry, while Pasqal’s algorithm portfolio includes problem-solving tools for computational finance, fluid dynamics, and chemistry.