French National Quantum Update: February 2026

February may be the shortest month of the year, but France’s quantum policymakers, entrepreneurs and researchers have taken advantage of every day to broaden and deepen their impact in the global quantum ecosystem.President Emmanuel Macron used the AI Action Summit in New Delhi to position France and India as a “third force” in artificial intelligence, emphasizing sovereignty and strategic autonomy beyond the U.S.–China axis. He also spoke on France’s ambition “to make Europe a quantum power,” pointing to four national champions developing distinct quantum computing platforms. At the European level, the European Space Agency is advancing satellite-enabled quantum encryption with the European Commission and industry partners to strengthen digital resilience and reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities.Orange Business and Cisco launched post-quantum cryptography-secured network services, targeting enterprises and public-sector clients. Paris-based Quantonation closed a €220 million fund focused on quantum infrastructure and error correction. Pasqal is reportedly in talks to raise €200 million at a unicorn valuation and delivered a 140-qubit system to Italy’s CINECA. Collaborations expanded across borders, including Quobly’s fault-tolerant systems MoU with Entropica Labs and Welinq’s strengthened neutral-atom networking partnership with Pasqal under France 2030 support. Meanwhile, SEALSQ deepened its CMOS-compatible quantum strategy and post-quantum security alliances.Also, during the month, France and the UAE convened a joint forum highlighting quantum and AI as pillars of bilateral innovation strategy.The links referenced below are not exhaustive but are added to provide an overview of selected developments across France’s quantum community this month.Macron in New Delhi: AI Is Not a Game Only the Biggest Can PlayMacron used the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi to position France and India as a third force in the global AI race by championing sovereignty, strategic autonomy, and “civilization-scale” innovation beyond the U.S.–China duopoly.He also flagged an ambitious bet on quantum computing, with four French companies working across four different technologies, calling it part of an ambition “to make Europe a quantum power.”Quantum encryption to boost European autonomyCyberattacks and geopolitics threaten today’s increasingly digital world, leading to the disruption of essential supplies such as power and water. ESA, the European Commission and space companies in Europe are teaming up to work towards a highly secure, satellite-enabled connectivity system for the EU – based on the unbreakable laws of physics.Orange Business and Cisco Launch PQC-Secured Network ServicesOrange Business and Cisco are announcing today their collaboration on Post-Quantum Cryptography- (PQC) secured solutions over the Orange Business global network infrastructure. This provides customers, from enterprises to public sector, with long-term protection against future quantum attacks for their network traffic.Quantonation Launches €220 Million Fund With Eye on Error Correction And Quantum InfrastructureQuantonation has closed a €220 million — or, about $240 million US — early-stage fund focused on quantum technologies and more than doubling the size of its first vehicle, a €91 million fund raised in 2022, Sifted reported. The new fund positions the Paris-based among a small group of global investors dedicated exclusively to quantum science and engineering. Founders say error-correction will be a particular focus for the fund.Pasqal in Talks to Raise €200 Million at Unicorn Valuation, Bloomberg ReportsPasqal SAS is in discussions to raise €200 million in new financing at a valuation exceeding $1 billion before the investment, according to media reports.Bloomberg reported that the French startup is negotiating the funding round, which would value the company at more than $1 billion pre-money, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal has not been finalized and terms could change, indicating that the discussions are private and fluid.Pasqal Delivers Neutral Atom QPU to Italy’s CINECAA 140-qubit neutral atom quantum computer developed by Pasqal has arrived at the DAMA Emilia-Romagna Technopole in Bologna, at the site of CINECA, Italy’s largest public supercomputing operator and a member of ICSC – Italian Center for Research on High Performance Computing, Big Data, and Quantum Computing, making the center even more powerful.Quobly and Entropica Labs Sign MoU on Fault-Tolerant Quantum SystemsQuobly, a French pioneer in silicon-based quantum computing, and Entropica Labs, a Singapore-based quantum software company, today announced the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing technologies. The MoU was signed in Singapore by Maud Vinet, CEO of Quobly, and Tommaso Demarie, CEO of Entropica Labs, in the presence of representatives from the Singaporean and French innovation ecosystems. QuEra and Roadrunner Launch Quantum Testbed in New MexicoQuEra Computing and Roadrunner Venture Studios today announced a $4M strategic partnership to build a quantum testbed at the Roadrunner Quantum Lab (RQL) powered by the State of New Mexico in Albuquerque. QuEra’s commitment includes running facilities with full-time hires in state, making Albuquerque’s Innovation District a world-class center for quantum companies. Welinq and Pasqal Accelerate Networked Quantum Computing with Neutral-Atom TechnologyWelinq and Pasqal announce the strengthening of their strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of networked quantum computing based on interconnected neutral-atom quantum processors. Building on an established collaboration and a shared neutral-atom technology stack, the two companies are now moving into a new phase of rapid implementation, tightly aligning quantum computing and quantum networking to deliver scalable, network-ready quantum architectures designed for deployment in data centers. This collaboration reaches a new milestone with InterQo, a €4 million, supported by the Île-de-France Region and BPI France through the i-Demo Régionalisé (France 2030) call. The project includes a bilateral industrial partnership between Pasqal and Welinq, alongside a dedicated research collaboration led by Pasqal with the group of Alexei Ourjoumtsev at Collège de France (JEIP), a leading expert in quantum optics and strong light–matter interactions.SEALSQ Deepens Technology Focus on CMOS-Compatible Quantum ArchitecturesSEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or “Company”), a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, today announced an increased technology-driven focus on semiconductor CMOS-compatible quantum computing architectures. This strategic emphasis reflects SEALSQ’s conviction that long-term quantum scalability will be achieved through deep alignment with semiconductor technology. By prioritizing silicon spin qubits and electrons-on-helium platforms, SEALSQ is concentrating its investments on qubit technologies that can be fabricated, integrated, and scaled using established semiconductor CMOS processes and manufacturing capabilities.SEALSQ Expands Investment in Quantum Startup EeroQSEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or the “Company”), a global leader in semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum cybersecurity technologies, today announced a new strategic investment in EeroQ, a U.S.-based quantum chip design company pioneering a breakthrough quantum computing architecture based on electrons on helium (eHe).SEALSQ and Lattice Partner on Post-Quantum Security for FPGAsSEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or “Company”), a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, today announced its collaboration with Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) to integrate TPM-based advanced post-quantum security capabilities into select Lattice FPGA solutions. This collaboration addresses the rapidly growing need for quantum-resistant technologies in mission-critical applications for edge computing and other high-stakes environments.Can Quantum Mechanics Be Derived from a Modification of General Relativity?Proposals offering alternatives to Einstein’s relativistic theory of gravitation are almost as old as the theory itself. Einstein even saw them as the beginning of a path that could lead to quantum mechanics. Today, there is renewed interest in this idea with entangled relativity theory, as its pioneer, French relativistic astrophysicist Olivier Minazzoli, explained to Futura.France – UAE forum for Research and InnovationFrance and the United Arab Emirates share a common vision: placing research and innovation at the heart of their development and international influence. Both nations are investing in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and space to build the solutions of tomorrow.Share this article:Keep track of everything going on in the Quantum Technology Market.In one place.