French National Quantum Update: July 2026

France’s quantum ecosystem continued to expand in July 2026 through a combination of government oversight, industrial scaling, international partnerships and commercial growth, even as policymakers acknowledged intensifying global competition.

The French Court of Auditors concluded that the country’s National Quantum Strategy has been well managed but warned that the international landscape has evolved more quickly than France’s current roadmap, with industry consolidation and foreign acquisition pressure creating new challenges for domestic companies. The assessment highlighted the need to transition from early-stage support toward long-term industrial competitiveness.Quantum technologies also featured prominently in France’s broader strategic agenda.

President Emmanuel Macron identified quantum technologies as a priority area for deeper cooperation with Germany alongside artificial intelligence, defense, space and energy, underscoring quantum’s growing role in European industrial and security policy.Commercial activity remained strong, led by Pasqal, which expanded internationally through partnerships in South Korea, launched a Canadian photonic packaging initiative through Aeponyx, began work on the €50 million Q-PLANET pilot line for neutral-atom quantum chips and strengthened its commercial leadership with the appointment of former HPE executive Mark Armstrong. Elsewhere, Quobly signed a $5 million agreement with SEALSQ to integrate post-quantum security into silicon-based quantum computing platforms, while BTQ subsidiary QPerfect joined France’s first publicly accessible neutral-atom quantum computing project.French research also continued to produce advances, including new work from CNRS and Université Paris Cité proposing scalable quantum machine-learning architectures designed to overcome longstanding training limitations. Meanwhile, France Quantum 2026 highlighted growing industry attention to supply-chain resilience, export controls and open-source strategies as geopolitical considerations increasingly shape quantum technology development.This is a non-exhaustive look at some of the developments that affected France’s quantum ecosystem during July 2026.Ukraine and European defence: Macron outlines key topics for talks with MerzFrench President Emmanuel Macron has said he plans to discuss support for Ukraine, peace and security in Europe, and strengthening defence cooperation during talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.France and Germany also plan to deepen cooperation in space, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and energy, Macron noted.A Europe that’s losing at tech could still achieve quantum supremacyEurope lost the race to be a leader in artificial intelligence almost before it had begun. By the time Mistral, the closest thing the continent has to an AI champion, secured its first round of funding in 2023, OpenAI had already raised more than $13bn. London-based DeepMind sold itself to Google nearly a decade earlier. Yet the next race might at least be closer. Several recent deals involved spinouts from public institutions.

Oxford Quantum Circuits began in the University of Oxford’s physics department; Quantum Motion was started by researchers at Oxford and University College London; Quobly started in France’s CEA-Leti research instituteFrance’s audit office takes stock of quantum computing supportPublic money was well managed, says the Cour des comptes, but the strategy no longer matches the pace of international competition.In a report published in July 2026, the French audit office reviews the national quantum strategy. It finds real but fragile successes, and warns that a phase of consolidation, and sometimes predation, of French companies has already begun.Pasqal Appoints Former HPE Executive Mark Armstrong as Commercial ChiefPasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, today announced the appointment of Mark Armstrong as Chief Commercial Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). Armstrong, a former Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) executive who led HPE’s High Performance Computing and AI business across EMEA, aims to drive Pasqal’s commercial strategy, sales execution and customer expansion in those regions across the EMEA and APAC regions.Q-PLANET Begins Development of European Pilot Line for Neutral Atom Quantum ChipsQ-PLANET, a €50 million European Quantum Chip Stability Pilot Line coordinated by Pasqal, has begun its work to advance industrial-grade components for neutral atom quantum technologies. The €50 million initiative brings together 28 organizations across 11 EU Member States to develop scalable manufacturing processes for quantum components.Pasqal and MegazoneCloud Partner to Bring Quantum Computing to South KoreaPasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, and MegazoneCloud, South Korea’s leading cloud and AI transformation company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore a series of quantum computing initiatives designed to accelerate enterprise adoption, expand commercial deployment capabilities, and strengthen quantum technology development across South Korea – moving enterprises from pilot to production through managed cloud access, targeted use cases development, and on-premises QPU deployment.Pasqal and Aeponyx Launch Canadian PIC Packaging Center for Quantum TechnologiesPasqal, through its Canadian subsidiary Aeponyx, has launched a Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) Packaging Center of Competency at C2MI to strengthen Canada’s capabilities in quantum and advanced sensing technologies. The initiative brings together Aeponyx, HOP Technologies, Phantom Photonics, and C2MI to develop standardized PIC packaging processes and establish domestic manufacturing capabilities.Backed by $7.9 million in funding, the project aims to scale from low-volume production to manufacturing more than 500,000 PIC modules annually in a future phase.BTQ’s QPerfect joins France’s first public neutral-atom quantum computing projectBTQ Technologies Corp.’s (Nasdaq: BTQ) quantum computing subsidiary QPerfect is joining France’s push to build the country’s first publicly accessible neutral atom quantum computing platform.QPerfect, a wholly owned subsidiary of BTQ, has entered a research collaboration with the University of Strasbourg to support aQCess, a platform designed to give researchers and industry open access to advanced neutral atom quantum hardware. SEALSQ and Quobly Sign $5 Million Commercial Agreement to Integrate Post-Quantum Security into Next-Generation Silicon Quantum Computing PlatformsSEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ: LAES) (“SEALSQ” or “Company”), a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, and Quobly, a pioneer in silicon based quantum computing, today announced the signing of a $5 million commercial agreement under which Quobly will integrate SEALSQ quantum-security technologies, secure semiconductor solutions and related engineering and integration services.France and the quantum computerFrance has invested significantly in the field of quantum information and everything particularly in research aimed at creating a quantum computer (quantum computer, STH). Although the French effort seems modest compared to that of the US or China, France has it from a community of world-class quantum physicists and computer scientists, which makes it possible to play in the leading roles qualitatively. French research has nothing to be ashamed of its positioning in the world, even if purely quantitative bibliometric measurements seem to give it a role secondary.The five French start-ups, financed on different technologies, are having interesting results globally and employ top scientists. It is still too early to determine which technology will prevail, each having its own difficulties.Quantum Machine-Learning Design Targets Training And Scaling BarriersA proposed quantum machine-learning framework could make larger quantum neural networks easier to train while preserving computations that are difficult for conventional computers to reproduce.The study, posted on the arXiv preprint server, presents two quantum-circuit designs intended to address several problems that have limited efforts to use quantum computers for machine learning. These include vanishing training signals, the high number of quantum-circuit runs needed to adjust a model and the risk that an easily trained quantum model may also be easy to simulate on a classical computer. Iordanis Kerenidis, a researcher at IRIF, CNRS and Université Paris Cité and a co-founder of Quantum Signals SAS, developed what the study describes as an end-to-end framework for scalable quantum deep learning.France Quantum 2026 – Frédéric Saffroy sheds light on Open Source as export controls tightenAt the international France Quantum 2026 trade show, Frédéric Saffroy delivered the Master Class entitled “Quantum Technologies: Securing the Value Chain” at Station F.Against the backdrop of the expanding scope of export controls and their use for political purposes, how can quantum industry players protect themselves from extraterritorial effects in order to retain control over their supply chain? To present the applicable constraints and possible solutions, including the use of Open Source, Frédéric Saffroy was joined by Marion Faure, Patent Attorney (BCF), and Benjamin Jean, founder of Inno3 and Open Source specialist.TopicsShare Get the latest research, company news, and market intelligence every week. MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLEPASQAL’s quantum computers control neutral atoms with optical tweezers using lasers to manipulate quantum registers with up to a few hundred qubits. Location in Boston MA.AEPONYX is a fabless micro optical switch semiconductor chips designer and manufacturer.Quobly, formerly Siquance, was founded in 2022 to develop and commercialize a universal large-scale quantum computer using proven semiconductor-industry processes. Quobly specializes in silicon-based quantum computing, focusing on scalable quantum processors. It develops silicon spin qubit QPUs using FD‑SOI semiconductor manufacturing to address challenges such as high‑complexity simulations in energy systems, drug discovery, and materials. It emphasizes industrial manufacturability and cost efficiency, working with RTOs and semiconductor partners (e.g., CEA‑Leti, CNRS, STMicroelectronics) to deliver fault-tolerant quantum systems capable of tackling real-world problems now intractable for classical supercomputers.SEALSQ is a Swiss semiconductor company founded in 2022 that is dedicated to post-quantum cryptography and hardware security. It provides quantum-resistant microcontrollers and secure Root of Trust technologies to protect satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and space-based data centers from advanced cyber threats and quantum attacks.BTQ builds post-quantum infrastructure to enable the next generation of energy-efficient blockchain networks.QPerfect specializes in developing solutions aimed at enhancing quantum computer performance, with a focus on scaling to fault-tolerant regimes. QPerfect's innovations aim to unlock industry-relevant applications that were previously inaccessible.The French National Centre for Scientific Research is among the world's leading research institutions. Its scientists explore the living world, matter, the Universe, and the functioning of human societies in order to meet the major challenges of today and tomorrow. Internationally recognised for the excellence of its scientific research, the CNRS is a reference in the world of research and development, as well as for the general public.Université Paris Cité is a public research university in Paris, France, formed in 2019 from the merger of Paris Descartes and Paris Diderot universities. It offers multidisciplinary education and research across legal, economic, management, humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and health disciplines. The university is recognized for its strengths in medical sciences and mathematics, and maintains partnerships with numerous international institutions. Its campuses and research facilities are located throughout Paris, supporting a large student and staff community.Google DeepMind, now a subsidiary of Google, is an artificial intelligence research laboratory founded in the UK in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014. It is known for breakthroughs like AlphaGo and AlphaZero. DeepMind focuses on AI safety, responsible AI development, and inclusive AI through various projects and models like Gemini and Gemma.Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) is a company that specializes in quantum computing technology aimed at addressing challenges like climate change and new drug discoveries. They offer Quantum Computing as-a-Service (QCaaS), making quantum computing accessible for breakthrough discoveries. OQC's core technology, the Coaxmon, ensures scalability and high-fidelity operation times in their superconducting quantum processors.Quantum Motion is a quantum computing company focused on developing scalable quantum computing technologies. They aim to create quantum computing architectures using a silicon-based platform with a CMOS-compatible process, leveraging established semiconductor fabrication techniques to achieve practicality and scalability.The University of Strasbourg, established in the 16th century by Jean Sturm, stands as one of France's oldest universities. It holds prominent recognition in various national and international ranking systems, including the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the US News Best Global Universities. Actively engaged in student and staff exchange initiatives, the university collaborates with institutions in the European Union, Australia, Canada, Eastern Europe, and other non-EU countries.Atomic Quantum Computing as a Service (aQCess) is a public research and user platform for quantum computing. They are part of the European Center for Quantum Sciences (CESQ) at the University of Strasbourg and CNRS.More in Research