Pasqal is a French neutral-atom quantum computing company founded in 2019 as a spin-out from Institut d'Optique. It operates systems of up to 324 qubits and has delivered hardware across Europe, including a 140-neutral-atom system to CINECA in Bologna in February 2026, integrated with a Leonardo pre-exascale EuroHPC supercomputer.

In March 2026, Pasqal raised more than EUR 340M at a $2 billion valuation, made up of a EUR 170M private round and EUR 170M of committed convertible financing, backed by Quanta Computer, LG Electronics, Temasek, Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures, and Bpifrance, ahead of a planned Nasdaq public listing in 2026. LG Electronics made an equity investment in November 2025 to co-develop optical and electronic modules for neutral-atom systems.

In November 2025, Pasqal deployed a 200-qubit system at Saudi Aramco's Dhahran data center, Saudi Arabia's first operational quantum computer. Pasqal QPUs are available on Scaleway's Quantum-as-a-Service platform and the OVHcloud sovereign cloud, both launched in late 2025, alongside Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. In October 2024, Pasqal signed a strategic partnership with EDF (Electricité de France) covering quantum simulation for EV charging optimization, wind and solar energy modeling, and nuclear material aging analysis.

In April 2026, Pasqal accelerated its roadmap with a 1000-qubit target and showed a 1024-atom array with fewer than 0.5% defects and 5000-second lifetimes. On 18 May 2026, Aramco and Pasqal launched Saudi Arabia's first commercial quantum computer service, followed on 21 May by a Middle East quantum-computing-as-a-service platform. On 20 May 2026, Pasqal advanced to the final round of the $5M XPRIZE Quantum Applications competition with a neutral-atom result solving equations 10× faster using logical qubits. On 26 May 2026, Pasqal filed an F-4 registration with the SEC to list on Nasdaq via a Bleichroeder SPAC. Update 2026-06-11: Pasqal launched its 140-qubit neutral-atom com

Pasqal

Alice & Bob is a French quantum computing company building cat qubit-based fault-tolerant quantum computers. Cat qubits autonomously suppress bit-flip errors using bosonic encoding in superconducting circuits, which requires far fewer physical qubits per logical qubit than competing approaches. Founded in 2020 as an ENS and Inria spinout, Alice & Bob is based in Paris and opened a EUR 50M quantum cleanroom there in March 2026. With about 150 employees and a target of 250 by mid-2026, the company aims to deliver the first industrially useful fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2030.

In September 2025, Boson 4 achieved a bit-flip lifetime exceeding 1 hour, up from 7 minutes in 2024, surpassing the 13-minute threshold needed for the 2030 roadmap. In January 2026, Alice & Bob published Elevator Codes, achieving error rates 10,000 times lower with a physical-to-logical qubit ratio of about 15 to 1. In August 2025, Alice & Bob and Inria published the Heart Code magic state preparation protocol, which requires only 53 qubits compared with 463 in Google's comparable proposal, 8.7 times fewer, runs five QEC cycles faster, and has an error rate below 1 in a million. SLURM and HPC integration with the STFC Hartree Centre launched in November 2025.

The company received a $3.9M ARPA-E award and partners with Eviden for fault-tolerant quantum computing. It was selected by DARPA for Stage A of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative for cat qubit technology, targeting utility-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2033.

Alice & Bob raised EUR 104M in its Series B round in January 2025, led by existing investors with Bpifrance participation through the France 2030 Deeptech and Defense Innovation funds, and was named to France's Next40 list. In April 2026 it raised an additional EUR 130M, bringing cumulative funding above EUR 230M, with more than 200 employees. Update 2026-06-11: Alice & Bob demonstrated encoding a logical qubit using 18 cat-qubits in their Helium Quantum System. S

Alice & Bob

C12 Quantum Electronics develops quantum processors that use ultra-pure carbon nanotubes as qubits. It was founded by twin brothers Matthieu and Pierre Desjardins as an Ecole Normale Superieure spinoff.

In 2025, C12 achieved record coherence times of 1.3 microseconds, exceeding silicon quantum dots by 100x and setting a new benchmark for solid-state systems. It released a five-qubit chip with expected gate fidelities above 99% and has a pathway to systems of 50 or more qubits by 2027 to 2030. On January 27, 2026, C12 announced a strategic integration partnership with Classiq to accelerate access to spin qubit quantum computing. The Classiq platform now supports Callisto, C12's digital twin, which models 13 noisy qubits with realistic carbon-nanotube noise characteristics, enabling optimized quantum circuits for carbon nanotube spin qubit architectures.

C12 has partnered with CEA to develop next-generation multi-qubit chips at wafer scale and received an EU HiFiQC (High-Fidelity Quantum Computing) HORIZON grant. It operates Quantum Fab in Paris, a quantum processor production line with a cleanroom, and employs 62 people, including 22 PhDs across 18 nationalities. Total funding is 29.3 million euros, from 360 Capital, Varsity Ventures, Verve Ventures, EIC Fund, Airbus Ventures, and BNP Paribas.

Quandela is a French photonic quantum computing company founded in 2017 out of the Institut d'Optique Graduate School and based in Massy, France. It uses single photon emitters in semiconductor nanostructures for gate-based quantum computing. Total funding stands at more than 107 million euros.

In October 2025, Quandela delivered its 12-qubit Lucy photonic system to the CEA, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, installed at the TGCC under the EuroHPC JU, with capacity to scale to 24 qubits by 2026. In November 2025, Quandela partnered with OVHcloud to offer its BELENOS (12-qubit) and CANOPUS (24-qubit) processors on a sovereign cloud from mid-2026.

In July 2025, Quandela partnered with Mila, the Quebec AI Institute, on quantum machine learning research. It also partnered with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to build a quantum technology development centre in Korea. In February 2026, Quandela launched MerLin, a quantum machine learning platform and framework that reproduces 18 photonic quantum machine learning models and delivers 20,000x acceleration through NVIDIA CUDA-Q integration. Update 2026-06-17: DARPA selected Quandela to participate in Stage A of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative to detail concepts for utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/darpa-selection-quantum-quandela-benchmark/ Update 2026-06-17: Quandela is advancing with DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, Stage A, detailing a concept for a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quandela-darpas-quantum-benchmarking-initiative/ Update 2026-05-29: Quandela appointed Michel Paulin, former OVHcloud CEO, to chair its board. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/former-ovhcloud-ceo-paulin-chairs/ Update 2026-04-26: Quandela signed two Memorandums of Understanding to expand its quantum presence in South Korea. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quandela-deal-quantum-two-mous/ Upd

Quandela

Quobly is a French silicon spin qubit company founded in 2021 out of CEA-LETI in Grenoble. In June 2026 it raised a EUR 115M Series A, the largest European quantum hardware funding round to date, bringing total raised to over EUR 160M. It is working toward 100 physical qubits on a commercial chip using STMicroelectronics CMOS fabrication, through its Q100T program. Its chips use 28nm FDSOI silicon, the same process behind millions of commercial chips, which opens the door to co-integration with classical electronics. The company received EUR 21M in additional funding in 2025, bringing total funding above EUR 45M, and it established a Singapore subsidiary in October 2025 to reach Asia-Pacific markets and fabrication partnerships. Partners include Entropica Labs for quantum error correction.

In November 2025, Quobly launched the QLEO GPU-accelerated quantum emulator with QPerfect, using the NVIDIA cuQuantum SDK and CUDA-Q and claiming a 100x speedup over CPU-only simulation. The same month it partnered with SEALSQ to embed post-quantum cryptography, specifically CRYSTALS-Kyber and Dilithium, natively into silicon spin qubit hardware for defense and finance applications.

In December 2025, Quobly's custom 28Si FD-SOI wafers from Soitec entered STMicroelectronics' 300mm production line in Crolles. This was the first integration of isotopically enriched silicon into a high-volume commercial semiconductor fabrication facility, a milestone toward mass-manufacturable silicon spin qubits. Update 2026-05-12: Quobly and Hon Hai Research Institute jointly released an open-source toolbox for exploring Quantum Phase Estimation. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quantum-phase-estimation-quobly-toolbox/ Update 2025-11-19: Quobly launched an upgraded quantum emulator utilizing GPU acceleration and NVIDIA CUDA-Q compatibility with QPerfect. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quobly-qperfect-gpu-quantum-quantum-emulator/ Update 2025-10-06: Quobly introduced a governance model to

Quobly

Arago is a French photonic-AI company that emerged from stealth in July 2025 with $26 million in seed funding co-led by Earlybird, Protagonist, and Visionaries Tomorrow. The company combines silicon photonics with free-space optics to build AI accelerators that target 10x lower energy consumption than traditional GPUs. Its photonic computing approach uses the speed of light for matrix operations, cutting both latency and power consumption for AI inference workloads.

Arago ships a PyTorch-compatible software stack called CARLOTA, which lets the hardware integrate with existing AI workflows. The founding team brings experience from leading photonics and semiconductor companies, placing Arago at the intersection of quantum photonics and practical AI acceleration.

Arago

Quantonation is the first early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to the quantum technology ecosystem, founded in 2018 in Paris by Charles Beigbeder and Christophe Jurczak. It invests globally in deep technologies based on advances in physics and computing across four areas: quantum computing hardware and software, quantum networks, quantum sensing, and deep physics. Quantonation is headquartered in Paris, France and Boston, USA, with investments in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. It uses scientific expertise to guide its investments and supports early-stage startups turning quantum research into commercial applications.

Quantonation I, a 2021 vintage fund, raised EUR 91 million beyond its original target and made investments in 27 companies worldwide. In April 2024, Quantonation announced the first closing of Quantonation II at EUR 70 million toward a EUR 200 million target, and the European Investment Fund committed EUR 30 million to Quantonation II in 2025.

Throughout 2025, Quantonation continued active investment in quantum technology companies, with portfolio companies showing progress in technology development and commercialization. In February 2026, Quantonation closed Fund II at EUR 220M, roughly $260M, becoming the largest dedicated quantum technology investment firm globally. Fund II is already deployed into 12 companies, with a target portfolio of about 25 companies.

Quantonation

Welinq develops quantum memory for datacenter-scale quantum networks. Spun out of Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (ENS/Sorbonne), the company builds atomic quantum memory with greater than 90% efficiency and 200 microsecond storage time using room-temperature neutral atoms compatible with the telecoms C-band. Its quantum memory can interconnect superconducting and neutral-atom processors over optical fiber, a building block for the quantum internet. Welinq describes the technology as a "quantum Ethernet port" for linking quantum processors via photonic links.

Welinq received EUR 4M in France 2030 funding for a joint project with Pasqal to network quantum computers. In February 2026, Welinq and Pasqal jointly received EUR 4M from France 2030's i-Demo Regionalise program for the InterQo project, which targets interconnected quantum computers in data center environments and aims to link Pasqal neutral-atom QPUs via photonic links, with Welinq contributing the most powerful neutral-atom quantum memory demonstrated to date.

Welinq has made its first commercial sale and partnered with QphoX to develop optical interconnects for superconducting quantum computers. In January 2025, Welinq launched AraQne, the first compiler for distributed quantum computing, which partitions large algorithms across networked QPUs. In February 2026, Welinq commercially launched its rack-mounted Entangled Photon Pair Source, delivering the first unit to a leading European institution, with expansion to the USA and Asia planned. Update 2026-04-16: WelinQ co-founders Julien Laurat and Eleni Diamanti earned CNRS Silver Medals for their research. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/welinq-co-founders-earn-cnrs-silver/ Update 2026-02-04: Welinq delivered a high-performance, rack-mounted entangled photon pair source to a European institution. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/welinq-entangled-photons-quantum-infrastructure/

WelinQ

AUREA Technology is a French company specializing in quantum sensing and measurement, developing precision instruments based on quantum physics for scientific, industrial, and defense applications. It designs and manufactures quantum-enhanced sensors, including atomic magnetometers, quantum gravimeters, and precision timing systems that use atomic and optical physics to achieve high measurement accuracy.

The company's quantum sensing solutions serve geophysical surveying, fundamental physics research, navigation systems, and industrial process monitoring, giving customers sensors that outperform classical measurement technologies. AUREA combines expertise in atomic physics, laser technology, and precision engineering to build sensing systems for demanding applications that require the highest levels of precision and stability.

AUREA Technology

Aqemia is a pharmatech company founded in 2019 as a deeptech spinoff from Ecole Normale Superieure. It combines quantum-inspired physics algorithms with generative AI to support drug discovery, enabling molecule exploration 10,000 times faster than conventional methods without requiring experimental training data. Its algorithms simulate molecular behavior at high accuracy and speed by training AI models on the physical laws governing molecular structures.

In 2024, Aqemia raised 60 million euros in Series A funding led by Cathay Innovation, bringing total funding to over 100 million euros. The funding supports preparation for clinical trials and international expansion, including a new London office that opened in January 2025. The company has three cancer-targeting drug candidates undergoing preclinical animal testing, having reached that stage in under two years, with expectations to move into clinical trials by 2025.

Major partnerships include a 140 million dollar collaboration with Sanofi and agreements with Servier and Johnson & Johnson to accelerate oncology drug development through physics-based molecular design.

Aqemia

Atos launched a quantum program in November 2016 to anticipate the future of quantum computing, developing the Atos Quantum Learning Machine (QLM), the world's most powerful commercially available quantum simulator. An international leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries, Atos has become a leading provider of quantum computing services.

The company has deployed QLM systems to research centers and universities in Austria, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and the United States. It has formed partnerships with quantum software companies such as Zapata AI, formerly Zapata Computing, to deliver end-to-end quantum computing solutions to enterprises. Atos maintains a Quantum Advisory Board of international experts, mathematicians, physicists, and Nobel Laureates including Alain Aspect and Serge Haroche to guide its quantum computing strategy.

Atos

Capgemini SE is a French multinational IT services and consulting company founded in 1967 and headquartered in Paris, France.

Capgemini provides quantum computing consulting and implementation services, covering quantum strategy development, application development, system integration, and workforce training. It works with quantum computing providers such as IBM and Microsoft to bring quantum expertise to enterprise clients. The firm's quantum practice helps organizations identify quantum use cases, develop quantum algorithms, and build hybrid quantum-classical implementations. Capgemini serves the automotive, financial services, energy, and manufacturing sectors, offering end-to-end quantum services from strategy through implementation.

Capgemini

Dynamiqs is an open-source Python library, sponsored by Alice & Bob, for high-speed simulation of open and closed quantum systems using NVIDIA accelerated computing. The GPU acceleration improves matrix operation efficiency by up to 60x, making it possible to simulate large, complex systems with multiple qubits and physical hardware components. The library is built on Google AI's JAX machine learning library and the Diffrax differential equations library.

The team behind Dynamiqs includes researchers from Alice & Bob, the University of Sherbrooke, Yale University, INRIA, Ecole de Mines, and ENS. In 2025, integration with the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform accelerated complex quantum dynamics simulation by up to 75x in early benchmarks. Its differentiability and GPU acceleration give researchers improved and entirely new capabilities for quantum device calibration.

Dynamiqs

Elaia is a Paris-based independent venture capital firm founded in 2002 by Philippe Gire and Xavier Lazarus, with more than 700 million euros under management. The firm focuses on digital economy and deep tech investments across Europe and has strong connections to French research institutions, including INRIA and PSL.

Elaia is a prominent investor in the French quantum computing ecosystem. It led the Series A funding for Alice & Bob, which develops quantum error correction using bosonic cat qubits, in a 27 million euro round, and continued as an existing investor through the company's 100 million euro Series B in January 2025. The firm also backed AQEMIA, an AI-driven drug discovery company from PSL labs. In 2024, Elaia launched a new deep tech fund with a 120 million euro target, with quantum computing as a key investment theme.

Elaia's strategy relies on deep partnerships with academic institutions including INRIA, which help it identify quantum startups early as they emerge from research. The firm invests from pre-seed through Series B, and its portfolio has produced 3 unicorns, 4 IPOs, and 57 acquisitions.

Elaia

The European Space Agency (ESA) develops quantum technologies for space through several research programs and initiatives. It investigates quantum communication satellites, quantum sensing for space exploration, quantum navigation systems, and quantum computing applications for space missions.

ESA's research covers quantum key distribution via satellite networks, quantum-enhanced sensing for Earth observation, and quantum technologies for deep space communication. It collaborates with European quantum technology companies and research institutions to advance space-based quantum systems that could change secure communications, precision navigation, and scientific measurement in space environments. Update 2026-05-30: The European Space Agency's Saga mission will use Quantum Key Distribution to distribute cryptographic keys from space. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/photons-detect-eavesdropping-esas-saga/ Update 2026-04-20: The European Space Agency selected MBRYONICS for in-orbit demonstrations of its StarCom Optical Terminal as part of the High-throughput Optical Network program. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/mbryonics-starcom-terminal-terabit-per/ Update 2025-12-18: Sopra Steria plans to acquire Starion and Nexova to enhance its space systems engineering and cybersecurity services for ESA and EUMETSAT. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/sopra-steria-acquisitions-esa-projects/

European Space Agency

Eviden is the Atos quantum division (spun off in 2022) providing quantum computing consulting, training, and support as a proactive guide for businesses adopting quantum technology. The company offers quantum computing hardware through the Atos QLM (Quantum Learning Machine) and provides consulting services to help organizations prepare for quantum computing. Eviden combines quantum simulators, software development kits, and professional services to enable enterprises to develop quantum expertise and quantum-ready applications.

Eviden

Exail Technologies is a French industrial company formed in 2022 from the merger of ECA Group and iXBlue, working in autonomous robotics, navigation, aerospace, and photonics. Led by CEO Dominique Giannoni, Exail's quantum sensing division builds on decades of research from former students and colleagues of Alain Aspect, the 2022 physics Nobel Prize winner.

In 2021, Exail acquired Muquans, the world's first company to commercialize industry-grade quantum sensors, founded by Aspect's former students. The company develops quantum gravimeters, quantum accelerometers, and quantum inertial navigation systems for precision measurement. It is involved in the CARIOQA-PMP European project, which is developing a space-grade quantum gravimeter for Earth and climate monitoring, and in 2022 it demonstrated a 3-axis hybrid quantum accelerometer, a step toward drift-free inertial navigation systems.

Headquartered in Paris, Exail represents France's strategic leadership in quantum sensing for defense, aerospace, navigation, and scientific applications.

Exail

IDEMIA is a multinational technology company specializing in biometric identification, digital security, and identity-related security services. With a global team of 800+ R&D experts, IDEMIA is a world-leading authority in post-quantum cryptography and introduced the first quantum-resistant 5G SIM in 2022. In July 2025, the company launched IDEMIA Sphere Cryptographic Library with 68 classical and post-quantum algorithms. IDEMIA leads the Hyperform consortium developing quantum-safe components for banks, governments, and software companies.

IDEMIA

Isentroniq is a Paris-based quantum hardware startup founded in May 2025 by Paul Magnard and Theodore Amar. Magnard holds a PhD in experimental quantum information processing from ETH Zurich and was formerly lead architect at Alice & Bob; Amar is a former Bain & Company consultant and ex-head of marketing at Hilti. The company develops next-generation wiring infrastructure for superconducting quantum computers, addressing the cryogenic power and space bottleneck that currently limits scaling beyond a few hundred qubits.

Control and readout lines currently add excessive heat and complexity inside cryostats, capping systems at a few hundred qubits. Isentroniq's proprietary dense, near-heatless wiring technology is designed to remove these heat, cost, and space constraints and to enable 1,000x more qubits to be integrated into existing dilution refrigerators. The company estimates this could cut the price of a million-qubit quantum computer from tens of billions to roughly 50 million euros, opening a path to million-qubit systems.

In October 2025, Isentroniq raised 7.5 million euros in pre-seed funding led by Heartcore Capital, with participation from OVNI Capital, Kima Ventures, IXCORE Group, Better Angle, and EPSL VC, plus support from Bpifrance and France 2030, to industrialize its wiring technology.

Isentroniq

Orange Business, formerly Orange Business Services, is the enterprise and B2B services division of Orange S.A. It is headquartered in Paris and serves multinational customers across 220 countries and territories.

Orange Business has run QKD field trials on its commercial fibre network, participated in EuroQCI and France's national quantum communication infrastructure programme, and partnered with ID Quantique, Toshiba, and Thales on quantum-safe service offerings for government, defence, and financial-services customers. It is positioning quantum-safe networking, combining QKD, PQC, and key-management-as-a-service, as part of its managed-security portfolio for the harvest-now-decrypt-later threat horizon.

Orange Business

Orange S.A. is a French multinational telecommunications corporation founded in 1990, originally France Télécom from 1988, and headquartered in Paris, France. Its Quantum Division develops quantum-safe telecommunications infrastructure and quantum networking capabilities.

Orange conducts quantum networking research, deploying quantum key distribution (QKD) networks and quantum-safe communications systems across French and European telecommunications infrastructure. The company works with French quantum technology companies and research institutions including CryptoNext Security, Alice & Bob, and Pasqal to advance practical quantum communications deployments. It also invests in post-quantum cryptography to prepare its infrastructure for quantum computing threats, and it has demonstrated quantum-secured fiber optic network connections for enterprise and government customers.

Orange serves European telecommunications markets, government agencies, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure sectors that need quantum-safe communications and quantum network infrastructure. The company contributes to the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) initiative and the French National Quantum Strategy, working to advance quantum-safe telecommunications at scale.

Orange Quantum Division

PLASSYS-BESTEK is a French company founded in 1987 that provides high-performance vacuum and ultra-high vacuum solutions for thin film material deposition. Since the early 2000s it has designed top-level deposition tools, and it is now a recognized leader in equipment for quantum technologies, with tools central to manufacturing superconducting qubits and other quantum devices. It supplies custom-designed systems to research laboratories, universities, and industrial manufacturing plants.

The company's core technologies include vacuum evaporation, both thermal and e-beam, sputtering, and ion etching, along with production systems for diamond growth via PECVD. Its equipment is used in semiconductor technology, superconductors, nano-electronics, optics, photonics, and spintronics.

In October 2025, PLASSYS-BESTEK delivered the SQUID-6 UHV, a quantum chip fabrication system, to Alice & Bob as part of the ULTRACAT project supported by France's defense innovation agency (AID). The SQUID-6 UHV is a fully automated, ultra-high vacuum deposition system that uses a modular cluster architecture to minimize chip exposure to cross-contamination, reducing material imperfections and helping produce high-quality Quantum Processing Units (QPUs).

PLASSYS-BESTEK

Silent Waves is a Grenoble-based quantum technology company founded in 2021 as a spinout from Institut Néel, one of the largest CNRS research laboratories, with expertise in quantum electronics, superconductivity, and quantum device fabrication. It was co-founded by Luca Planat, Nicolas Roch (a researcher at Institut Néel CNRS), and Baptiste Planat.

The company develops microwave signal readout technology for quantum computing, radio astronomy, and electron spin resonance applications that require accurate detection of ultra-low power microwave signals. Its readout hardware enables accurate qubit state measurement and quantum processor operation through microwave signal processing. Silent Waves focuses on ultrasensitive signal processing for quantum readout systems and provides expert support to customers building quantum computers and quantum sensing systems.

The company is embedded in Grenoble's innovation ecosystem, drawing on the region's expertise in quantum electronics, superconducting circuits, and quantum information processing infrastructure.

Silent Waves

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales, which holds 67%, and Leonardo, which holds 33%. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Cannes, France, its quantum technology division develops space-based quantum communications systems.

In January 2025, Thales Alenia Space partnered with Hispasat to develop the QKD-GEO prototype, Spain's quantum key distribution system from geostationary orbit, with a 103.5 million euro budget. The company leads a large industrial consortium of Spanish and European companies, including entities specialized in quantum communications: the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and the University of Vigo.

Thales Alenia Space develops quantum payloads for geostationary satellites and the associated ground segments for quantum-secure communications from space. Field test campaigns are planned between La Palma and Tenerife, covering 140-km atmospheric links. The company serves government agencies, defense organizations, telecommunications operators, and critical infrastructure that need satellite-based quantum key distribution for ultra-secure space-to-ground communications.

Thales Alenia Space Quantum Division

The Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives (CEA) is France's primary public research organisation for nuclear energy and advanced technologies, and it plays a major role in quantum technology development. CEA is central to France's 1.8 billion euro Plan Quantique, running from 2021 to 2030, and it operates the LETI research laboratory in Grenoble, one of Europe's leading semiconductor research institutes, which is developing silicon spin qubits and other quantum hardware.

CEA's quantum research spans several technology streams: superconducting qubits at CEA-Saclay (Institut Rayonnement Matiere de Saclay), silicon spin qubits at CEA-Leti in Grenoble, quantum sensing and atomic clocks, and post-quantum cryptography. The organisation has strong industrial technology transfer capabilities and has spun out or partnered with quantum startups, including those developing silicon-based qubit technologies.

CEA participates in the EU Quantum Flagship and leads or co-leads several European quantum projects. The Grenoble quantum ecosystem around CEA-Leti is one of Europe's most active, with strong ties to STMicroelectronics, Soitec, and the deep-tech incubator GIANT (Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies), which clusters quantum and nanotechnology companies. CEA's IRFU particle physics division at Saclay also contributes to quantum sensing and detector technology development.

The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) is a French national research institution founded in 1939 and headquartered in Paris, France. It is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe and conducts quantum research through multiple laboratories and research units, working on quantum physics, quantum computing, quantum materials, and quantum technologies.

CNRS researchers contribute to fundamental quantum science, hardware development, and quantum applications. The organization collaborates with French quantum companies and European research institutions, and it supports France's national quantum strategy as well as European quantum research more broadly.

CNRS

INRIA (Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique) is France's national research institute for digital science and technology, with a key role in quantum software, algorithms, and theoretical quantum computing research. It participates in France's EUR 1.8B Plan Quantique and contributes to the quantum software and algorithms layer of France's quantum technology stack.

INRIA's quantum research covers quantum algorithm design and complexity, quantum programming languages and compilers, quantum error correction codes, quantum cryptography and post-quantum security, and hybrid quantum-classical algorithms. It hosts several quantum-focused research teams across its centres in Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Paris, Rennes, Saclay, and Sophia Antipolis, and its quantum work connects closely with CEA, CNRS, and the major French universities.

INRIA is a founding partner of the Paris Quantum Computing Institute and contributes to the EU Quantum Flagship's quantum software and algorithms workstreams. It has developed quantum software tools and libraries used by European quantum researchers, and it works on formal verification methods for quantum programs, an area where French researchers have made foundational contributions.

INRIA

Lytid is a French photonics company that develops and commercializes terahertz laser sources based on quantum cascade laser (QCL) technology. Co-founded by Pierre Gellie and Jean-Charles Roche, the company draws on more than 20 years of applied QCL research by Prof. Carlo Sirtori at the Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques laboratory at Paris Diderot University.

Lytid's product range includes deep-cooled SWIR cameras, ultra-fast Mid-IR QWIP detectors, terahertz sources based on quantum cascade lasers, and Sub-THz sources based on Schottky diode technology. The company serves quantum sensing, spectroscopy, and imaging applications across research and industry. Based in Paris, Lytid reflects France's investment in quantum photonics for the next generation of sensing and detection.

Lytid

Muquans is a French quantum sensing company founded in 2011 as a spinout from the Observatoire de Paris and the Institut d'Optique. It was the first company to apply laser-cooled quantum manipulation techniques on an industrial scale, developing the world's first commercial Absolute Quantum Gravimeter, which achieves microGal-level precision through cold rubidium atom interferometry. Its product line also includes atomic clocks, frequency transfer systems, and high-performance laser systems.

Muquans was acquired by iXblue in 2021 to form a European leader in photonics and quantum technologies. Its quantum sensors measure changes in gravitational acceleration to detect subsurface mass variations, serving geophysics, oil and mineral exploration, civil engineering, and navigation markets.

Muquans

Orolia (now Safran Navigation & Timing after 2022 acquisition) is the world leader in resilient PNT (Positioning, Navigation, Timing) solutions providing atomic clocks, time servers, GNSS simulation equipment, and emergency locator beacons for government, military, aerospace, and defense markets. Over 350 Orolia atomic clocks orbit Earth, with their Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standards (RAFS) achieving 2×10-14 stability over 10,000 seconds on Galileo satellites, plus integrated Passive Hydrogen Maser physics packages delivering micro atomic clocks for GNSS-denied battlefield environments.

Orolia

Perceval is an open-source quantum photonic development toolkit from Quandela, offering a Python-based framework for simulating, designing, and experimenting with photonic quantum circuits and algorithms. Through a simple object-oriented Python API, it provides tools for composing circuits from linear optical components, defining single-photon sources, manipulating Fock states, running simulations, and testing new quantum algorithms. It interfaces with QPUs on the Quandela cloud, allowing computations on actual photonic computers.

In 2024, EuroHPC JU selected the Quandela consortium for the EuroQCS-France initiative, providing remote access to a 12-qubit photonic quantum computer. Perceval has been published in the Quantum journal as an open-source platform for discrete-variable photonic quantum computers. A partnership with OVHcloud makes Perceval available for developers to run quantum algorithms by simulating optical processors on OVH Cloud.

Perceval

QPerfect provides a comprehensive quantum simulation platform that enables researchers and developers to model, simulate, and optimize quantum systems and algorithms using classical high-performance computing resources, offering tools for quantum circuit simulation, noise modeling, and quantum algorithm development to bridge the gap between quantum theory and practical implementation. Update 2025-11-19: QPerfect launched an upgraded quantum emulator with Quobly that utilizes GPU acceleration and NVIDIA CUDA-Q compatibility. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quobly-qperfect-gpu-quantum-quantum-emulator/ Update 2025-06-16: Quobly launched a commercially available, error-free quantum emulator developed with QPerfect and hosted on OVHcloud. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/quobly-launches-error-free-quantum-emulator-to-accelerate-industrialisation/

QPerfect

QuRISK is a French quantum risk advisory firm founded in 2021 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. It helps organizations assess and reduce the risks quantum computing poses to their cryptographic infrastructure, providing quantum risk assessments, cryptographic inventory analysis, and post-quantum migration roadmaps for enterprises, financial institutions, and government agencies.

QuRISK's consulting work helps clients understand their exposure to harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks and plan a transition to quantum-resistant cryptography. The firm works with European enterprises preparing for the post-quantum era, drawing on expertise across quantum computing, cybersecurity, and enterprise risk management.

QuRISK

Quantic is a French quantum computing company developing quantum processors and quantum software for European enterprises and research institutions. It builds quantum computing systems using advanced quantum technologies and provides quantum software development tools, quantum algorithms, and consulting for organizations exploring quantum applications.

The company contributes to France's quantum technology ecosystem by advancing both quantum hardware and software. It collaborates with French research institutions and enterprises to develop practical quantum computing solutions for optimization, simulation, and other computational challenges across industry.

Quantic

Quantum Signals is a Paris-based startup founded in 2024 that merges artificial intelligence with quantum algorithms to reshape financial markets. The company is backed by Quantonation II and focuses on developing quantum-enhanced financial modeling and prediction systems. Quantum Signals applies hybrid quantum-classical approaches to solve complex financial optimization and risk management problems.

Quantum Signals

Qubit Pharmaceuticals is a quantum-enhanced drug discovery company based in Paris and Boston, founded in 2020. Using hybrid quantum-classical computing through its Atlas platform, the company accelerates pharmaceutical research, running molecular simulations 100,000 times faster than traditional methods and reducing drug candidate screening from 5,000 to 200 compounds. Its technologies include the Hyperion-1 quantum emulator, which simulates 40 qubits, and the FeNNix-Bio1 quantum AI foundation model developed with Sorbonne University. The company operates one of France's largest GPU supercomputers and is advancing 7 therapeutic programs, particularly in oncology and inflammation.

In December 2025, in collaboration with Sorbonne University, Qubit Pharmaceuticals published results overturning a theoretical speed limit for quantum molecular calculations. The work executed drug-discovery workloads at up to 123 qubits and 2,000 two-qubit gates, reaching classical precision in hydration-site prediction faster than was previously believed physically possible. Update 2026-01-29: Qubit Pharmaceuticals announced a new method that accelerates Relative Binding Free Energy calculations by 15-30x. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/qubit-pharmaceuticals-rbfe-binding-energy/

Qubit Pharmaceuticals

Radiall is a global manufacturer of interconnect solutions that has developed specialized cryogenic components for quantum computing. The company launched the F2C-40 Floating Cryogenic Cluster, a 40-pin high-density multi-coaxial solution that performs well up to 18GHz in cryogenic environments for high qubit quantum computing devices. Its broader quantum interconnect offering includes RF connectors, cable assemblies, attenuators, switches, and fiber optics.

Radiall takes part in France's QRYOLink R&D program, an 8 million euro, 54-month effort supported by the French government, working alongside Alice & Bob, cryostat manufacturers, and qubit developers. The company operates facilities in Grenoble, a French quantum hub.

Radiall

SYRTE (Systemes de Reference Temps-Espace), based at the Observatoire de Paris, is France's national time and frequency metrology laboratory and one of the world's leading centres for quantum-based timing and navigation standards. It operates France's primary atomic time standard, which contributes to International Atomic Time (TAI), and develops next-generation optical atomic clocks based on strontium and mercury lattice systems.

SYRTE's optical lattice clocks have achieved fractional uncertainties below 4x10-17, placing them among the world's most accurate timekeepers. The laboratory has pioneered cold-atom interferometry for quantum inertial sensing, developing matter-wave gravimeters and gyroscopes for geodesy, tests of general relativity, and long-term navigation systems. This atom interferometry work has direct applications in quantum-enhanced gravimeters for underground mapping, seismology, and submarine navigation.

SYRTE is a key partner in France's 1.8 billion euro Plan Quantique and participates in European quantum sensing networks through EURAMET and the EU Quantum Flagship sensing projects. It collaborates with NIST, PTB, NPL, and other national metrology institutes on optical clock comparison and quantum metrology standardisation. SYRTE also contributes to the anticipated redefinition of the SI second based on optical atomic transitions, which will replace the current microwave caesium standard.

SYRTE

SteerLight is a spin-off from CEA-Leti based in Grenoble, France, specializing in developing next-generation LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles and robotics. The company uses advanced photonics and quantum sensing technologies to create high-performance optical sensors with improved range, resolution, and reliability. SteerLight is backed by Quantonation and focuses on bringing quantum-enhanced sensing to commercial applications.

SteerLight

Thales Group develops quantum-safe communications and quantum cryptography solutions for government, defense, and enterprise applications, creating quantum key distribution systems, post-quantum cryptography implementations, and quantum-secure communication networks that protect sensitive information against both classical and quantum computing threats, providing integrated quantum security solutions for critical infrastructure, telecommunications, and defense systems requiring ultra-secure communications and data protection. Update 2026-03-04: Thales demonstrated a capability to prepare 5G networks for quantum computing by enabling remote security upgrades to SIM and eSIM cards. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/thales-post-quantum-cryptography/

Thales

TotalEnergies explores quantum computing applications for energy sector optimization and sustainability. It investigates quantum algorithms for renewable energy grid optimization, carbon capture simulation, oil reservoir modeling, and energy trading strategies, and collaborates with quantum computing companies and research institutions to develop quantum solutions for complex energy challenges. This work includes molecular simulation for battery materials, catalyst design for cleaner energy production, and optimization of energy distribution networks. Through quantum-enhanced modeling and optimization, the company contributes to the energy industry's digital transformation, with the goal of improving energy efficiency and accelerating the transition to sustainable energy systems.

In June 2025, TotalEnergies renewed its quantum research partnership with Quandela, Alysophil, and MBDA, targeting quantum-assisted discovery of high-performance polymers for energy and materials applications. In that partnership, TotalEnergies evaluates environmental impact and MBDA directs industrial use cases.

TotalEnergies

VeriQloud is a French quantum cloud security company founded in 2017 in Paris by Marc Kaplan, Elham Kashefi, and Josh Nunn. It develops quantum cryptography solutions, including the Qline quantum communication architecture for metropolitan fiber networks and HyQloud hybrid quantum-classical cryptography for cloud storage, providing hundreds of years of data security during communication, storage, and computing.

The company has raised 1.9 million euros in funding from Quantonation and WinEquity, and its technology has been deployed by Deutsche Telekom on Berlin's OpenQKD testbed network. VeriQloud participates in major European quantum initiatives, including France QCI, the Quantum Internet Alliance, and the QuantERA HSM-QCC project.

VeriQloud

EDF (Electricité de France) is a major French electric utility and nuclear energy company that has become one of Europe's most active energy-sector investors in quantum computing research. In October 2024, EDF signed a strategic partnership with Pasqal to explore quantum simulation for EV charging network optimization, wind and solar energy forecasting, and nuclear material aging analysis. EDF also collaborates with Quandela on quantum simulation for hydroelectric dam optimization.

EDF co-funds the OECQ consortium, a 6.1 million euro French national project, alongside Alice & Bob, Quandela, and CNRS. The consortium benchmarks the energy efficiency of quantum computing against classical HPC infrastructure, a key concern given EDF's position as Europe's largest electricity producer.

EDF (Electricité de France)

C12 Quantum Electronics is a Paris-based quantum hardware startup developing carbon nanotube (CNT) qubits, using single-electron spins in suspended carbon nanotubes to minimize decoherence from substrate noise. This approach offers potentially longer coherence times and compatibility with industrial fabrication. C12 is one of five recipients of France's PROQCIMA programme (backed by Bpifrance and the Ministry of Armed Forces, targeting fault-tolerant quantum computers by 2030 with €500M total commitment). C12 was founded by researchers from ENS Paris-Saclay.

C12 Quantum Electronics

Scaleway is a French cloud infrastructure provider (subsidiary of Iliad Group) that launched a Quantum as a Service (QaaS) platform in February 2026 through a partnership with Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT). The platform provides access to AQT's IBEX Q1 12-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer, supporting Qiskit, Cirq, and PennyLane frameworks. Scaleway positions itself as a key European sovereign quantum cloud access provider, complementing AWS Braket and Azure Quantum for European customers who require data sovereignty. Based in Paris, France. Update 2026-03-17: Scaleway has integrated its quantum computing capabilities with GPU resources, achieving full NVIDIA CUDA-Q compatibility. Source: https://quantumzeitgeist.com/scaleway-cuda-q-integration-cudaq-unifies/

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