Pasqal

Pasqal is a French quantum computing company founded in March 2019 as a spin-off from the Institut d’Optique in Paris-Saclay. The company specialises in quantum computing using neutral atoms, where individual non-ionised atoms are trapped, cooled to a few microkelvins, and controlled with lasers to function as qubits. This approach allows faster scaling and lower power consumption compared with many superconducting systems used by other quantum computing firms.

Pasqal was founded by leading physicists Antoine Browaeys and Georges-Olivier Reymond, with co-founder and scientific advisor Alain Aspect, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on quantum entanglement and Bell’s inequalities. The company’s roots go back several decades of academic research, including major breakthroughs such as the first controlled trapping of a single atom in 2001, the demonstration of Rydberg blockade in 2009, and large-scale neutral-atom quantum simulations between 2016 and 2018.

Pasqal became part of France’s national quantum strategy in January 2021 when President Emmanuel Macron announced a €1.8 billion national quantum investment plan that included the company. In the same year, Pasqal merged with quantum software firm Qu&Co, strengthening its full-stack approach combining hardware, software and cloud access. Its first quantum machine became available online in May 2022. In 2023, the company raised €100 million from investors including Temasek, Quantonation and Bpifrance, and it became the first start-up supported by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces’ Defence Innovation Fund.

In 2024, Pasqal delivered a 100-qubit quantum accelerator to the CEA’s Very Large Computing Centre in Saclay, connected to the Joliot-Curie supercomputer. A second system is planned for Jülich in Germany under the EuroHPC programme. In June 2024, Pasqal also announced it had successfully loaded more than 1,000 atoms into a single quantum processor.

Pasqal focuses on applications in material science, optimisation, energy systems, logistics, and defence. Clients include EDF, CMA CGM and MBDA. The company operates research facilities in Paris-Saclay and Massy and employs over 300 people, including more than 75 PhDs, across multiple global locations.

Pasqal was founded in March 2019 in France as a spin-off from the Institut d’Optique Graduate School in Paris-Saclay. The company emerged from several decades of academic research in atomic physics and quantum science led by Antoine Browaeys, Georges-Olivier Reymond and their research teams. This work was strongly influenced by the earlier scientific contributions of Alain Aspect, who in 1982 carried out the first major experiment demonstrating the violation of Bell’s inequalities, an experiment that later became central to the development of quantum information science. 

In 2001, Georges-Olivier Reymond achieved the first controlled trapping of a single atom in an optical tweezer, published in Nature, which established the technical foundation for manipulating individual atoms as quantum bits. In 2009, Antoine Browaeys demonstrated the Rydberg blockade effect between individual atoms, published in Nature Physics, making it possible to create quantum logic gates between neutral atoms. 

Between 2016 and 2018, further progress was achieved when teams led by Thierry Lahaye and Antoine Browaeys demonstrated large-scale quantum simulations with 30 qubits and later 49 qubits arranged in three-dimensional structures, published in Nature and Physical Review X. These results showed that neutral-atom systems could scale effectively.

In 2019, Thierry Lahaye, Antoine Browaeys, Georges-Olivier Reymond and Christophe Jurczak founded Pasqal to turn this academic research into practical quantum computing systems. The company chose the neutral-atom approach, where individual atoms are trapped, cooled to a few microkelvins and controlled by lasers. In January 2021, Pasqal was named by President Emmanuel Macron as a key contributor to France’s national quantum strategy, supported by a €1.8 billion public funding programme. That same year, Pasqal merged with Qu&Co, a quantum software company, allowing it to build a complete hardware, software and cloud computing platform. Pasqal also signed a defence partnership with MBDA in 2021.

In May 2022, Pasqal made its first quantum machine available online so industrial users could test real applications. In 2023, the company raised €100 million from investors including Temasek, Quantonation and Bpifrance and became the first start-up supported by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces’ Defence Innovation Fund. 

In 2024, Pasqal delivered a 100-qubit quantum accelerator to the CEA’s Very Large Computing Centre in Saclay and connected it to the Joliot-Curie supercomputer. In June 2024, Pasqal announced it had successfully loaded more than 1,000 atoms into a single processor. By 2025, Pasqal employed over 300 people across global locations and continues to expand its quantum systems for energy, materials science, logistics, finance and defence applications.

Pasqal’s mission is to turn advanced quantum science into useful computing tools for real problems. The company works to make quantum computers reliable, scalable, and accessible for businesses, researchers and public organisations. Using neutral atoms as qubits, Pasqal aims to deliver systems that can solve tasks that are too complex for classical computers, especially in materials science, energy systems, logistics, finance and defence. A key part of its mission is to connect academic research with industry needs, ensuring that quantum technology moves from the laboratory into practical use. Pasqal also focuses on building long-term partnerships and training the next generation of quantum engineers.

Pasqal’s vision is to break the limits of current computing by leading the development of large-scale quantum computers. The company wants quantum technology to become a normal part of modern computing infrastructure, working alongside classical supercomputers in data centres around the world. Pasqal believes quantum computing will play a major role in solving global challenges such as energy transition, climate modelling, new materials design and complex optimisation. Its long-term goal is to build powerful, stable and efficient quantum systems that are available through the cloud and local installations, allowing organisations of all sizes to benefit from quantum computing.

Pasqal has received wide recognition in science, industry and government. Its co-founder and scientific advisor Alain Aspect was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022 for his work on quantum entanglement, which forms part of Pasqal’s scientific foundation. The company was selected by the French government as a key contributor to France’s national quantum strategy announced in 2021. Pasqal became the first start-up supported by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces’ Defence Innovation Fund. In 2024, Pasqal won a major EuroHPC contract to supply quantum accelerators for European supercomputing centres in France and Germany.

Pasqal provides full-stack quantum computing products and services based on its neutral-atom technology. The company designs and builds quantum processors, develops the supporting software, and delivers access through both local installations and cloud platforms. This complete approach allows customers to work with quantum computing from the hardware level up to application development.

At the centre of Pasqal’s offering is its neutral-atom Quantum Processing Unit (QPU). In this system, individual neutral atoms are trapped in arrays using optical tweezers and cooled to a few microkelvins. Lasers are used to control the atoms and perform quantum operations. This architecture allows the number of qubits to scale more easily compared with many other approaches and requires lower power, typically around 7–8 kilowatts. Pasqal’s QPUs are built as modular quantum accelerators, installed in standard data centre racks measuring roughly two metres by three metres. These accelerators are designed to work alongside classical supercomputers in hybrid systems.

One of Pasqal’s most important products is its 100+ qubit quantum accelerator, which was delivered in 2024 to the CEA’s Very Large Computing Centre in Saclay and connected to the Joliot-Curie supercomputer. A similar system is planned for the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany under the EuroHPC programme. These systems allow organisations to run real hybrid quantum-classical workloads. In June 2024, Pasqal announced that it had successfully loaded more than 1,000 atoms into a single processor, showing strong progress toward large-scale machines.

On the software side, Pasqal provides a complete development environment following its merger with Qu&Co in 2021. This includes programming tools, compilers, optimisation libraries and workflow systems that allow users to design, simulate and execute quantum algorithms. The software platform supports hybrid computing, where parts of a task are processed on classical computers and other parts on quantum hardware. Pasqal’s tools are designed for both quantum experts and engineers who are new to quantum computing.

Pasqal also offers cloud access to its quantum systems. Since May 2022, users have been able to access Pasqal’s quantum processors remotely over the internet. In 2025, Pasqal made its neutral-atom QPU available through Scaleway’s cloud platform, expanding access to European customers. Cloud access allows companies, universities and research centres to test quantum algorithms without installing physical hardware on site.

In addition to technology products, Pasqal delivers industry solutions and professional services. The company works closely with customers to identify use cases, build quantum models, test performance and integrate quantum computing into existing systems. Key application areas include materials science, energy systems, logistics, finance, chemistry, optimisation and defence. Pasqal has active projects with organisations such as EDF for energy grid optimisation, CMA CGM for shipping logistics, and MBDA for defence system modelling.

Pasqal also provides training programmes, technical support and long-term partnerships, helping organisations build internal quantum skills and prepare for future large-scale quantum adoption. Through this combination of hardware, software, cloud access and expert services, Pasqal offers one of the most complete quantum computing platforms currently available in Europe.