Pasqal's NASDAQ Debut
Pasqal, a quantum computing company, started trading on the NASDAQ today after going public through a SPAC (a shell company used to list without a traditional IPO). The stock rose as much as 73% on debut, hitting a high above $17, then pulled back to around $13 to $14.
The company runs more operating quantum computers than any firm except IBM (IBM). Its systems work inside standard data centers at normal room temperature, which is a major advantage over designs that need extreme cooling.
How the Technology Works
Pasqal builds quantum computers in a different way. Instead of making chips, it uses individual atoms as its qubits. The atoms do not need to be wired together - they connect to each other on their own. This makes the machines scalable and able to handle several large problems across different industries.
Skipping chip fabrication makes the business very capital efficient. There are no complex fabrication plants to build, so the company does more with less money than many rival quantum firms. The systems are simpler, perform better, and offer uniform reliability.
The scientific base is strong: one co-founder is a Nobel Prize winner, and the other co-founder invented this atom-based method, now seen by some as perhaps the most promising path to building quantum computers.
Focus on Real Customers Today
Pasqal sells working quantum solutions now, not in the future. Its software runs out of the box alongside existing computers and solves problems that other systems cannot. Generative AI systems cannot solve certain problems, and standard CPU systems cannot solve certain problems, but quantum computers can. That gap is Pasqal's target.
The strategy is deep focus on a few large industries rather than trying to serve everyone. This lets the company become an expert in each field's problems and earn customer trust. At its core, Pasqal solves the same set of problems, but tailors delivery to each industry and company.
Three focus areas:
- Energy (oil and gas): Saudi Aramco (2222.SR), the world's largest oil and gas company, is a customer. A Pasqal quantum computer is deployed and running in Aramco's data center in Dhahran, used in its mainline business. The two companies engaged multiple years ago.
- Financial services: Credit Agricole (ACA), one of the largest balance-sheet banks in the world, is a customer. After two years of work on complex optimization problems for risk and credit, the bank publicly announced two months ago that it will put Pasqal's work into production.
- Specialty materials: Pasqal enables new magnetic materials, battery materials, and semiconductor materials. LG Electronics (066570.KS) is a large customer.
Delivering results earns trust, and trust deepens each account. Success in one vertical then helps win new customers, because the company can point to proven delivery.
Market and Outlook
The addressable market for quantum computing is estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Computation itself is being redefined, with generative AI and quantum computing arriving at the same time. Adding quantum to today's technology shifts will be equally game-changing, because quantum precisely handles problems that are hard or impossible for other forms of compute.
Pasqal is a global company with customers worldwide and strong growth in Europe and Asia; in Europe it ranks second to IBM (IBM). Five years ago Wall Street paid little attention to quantum computing; interest arrived fast, with sharp growth into 2026.
The goals of going public were visibility - the company had been delivering quietly - and a strong balance sheet to fund faster commercialization, its technology and product roadmap, and manufacturing capacity to serve more customers.
