IQM, a full-stack quantum computing company based in Finland, became the first European quantum firm to list on a major U.S. exchange when it went public on the Nasdaq on Thursday via a SPAC merger. The company was valued at approximately $1.9 billion. However, the market reception was tepid, with shares trading below the IPO price for most of the day.
While SPAC mergers have generally struggled to attract retail investors in recent years, IQM's lukewarm debut may have been fueled by a strikingly candid admission in its own prospectus: the company warned that “large-scale commercial traction of quantum computing technology may never occur.”
This caution applies broadly across the quantum industry, yet it has not stopped companies—including IQM—from acquiring real-world customers. Today, IQM sells both physical quantum computers and cloud-based quantum computing time. Its clients include the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany. “We sell computers into advanced supercomputing centers and data centers, and we sell computing time through the cloud,” CEO and cofounder Jan Goetz told TechCrunch.
IQM grew its customer base from 8 in 2024 to 22 in 2025, a milestone worth celebrating—especially since two of its newest customers are from the private sector. Still, the numbers underscore a persistent challenge: demand is unlikely to scale meaningfully until the industry achieves “quantum advantage”—the point at which quantum chips outperform classical computers on a wider and more commercially relevant set of complex tasks. This breakthrough could unlock use cases across biotech, fintech, and even upend current encryption standards.
But no one—not even a company building the machines—can say exactly when that will happen.
That uncertainty has not deterred investors, who have continued to double down on quantum companies, both public and private. Their confidence has been further bolstered by President Trump’s 2026 executive orders aimed at accelerating quantum development. In response, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed to deploying “the world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computer” by 2028.
While France, Germany, and the U.K. have made similar pledges, the U.S. commitment carries particular weight for IQM. The company recently established a quantum technology center in Maryland and has deployed a computer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a DOE facility. “We can benefit directly from it,” Goetz said.
Despite deepening its U.S. presence, IQM is not shifting its center of gravity across the Atlantic. Alongside its IQMX ticker on the Nasdaq—where most of its quantum peers are listed—the company is also set to debut on Nasdaq Helsinki, where it expects continued backing from investors such as Tesi, Finland’s sovereign wealth fund.
via TechCrunch