IQM, Europe's first public quantum company, warns of uncertain future
Original: IQM, Europe’s first public quantum company, admits the future of the tech is uncertain
Why This Matters
IQM's public listing marks a milestone for European quantum, but highlights the sector's unresolved commercialization timeline.
Finnish quantum computing firm IQM went public on Nasdaq Thursday via a SPAC merger at a $1.9 billion valuation, but shares fell below IPO price. The company's own prospectus warned that 'large-scale commercial traction of quantum computing technology may never occur.'
IQM, a full-stack quantum computing company founded in Finland in 2018 as a spinout from Aalto University, debuted on Nasdaq under the ticker IQMX via a SPAC merger at a valuation of approximately $1.9 billion. Shares spent most of the day below the IPO price, reflecting a lukewarm reception from retail investors. The subdued debut was partly attributed to language in IQM's own prospectus acknowledging that large-scale commercial quantum computing 'may never occur.' CEO and co-founder Jan Goetz stated the company sells physical quantum computers to supercomputing centers and data centers, as well as computing time via the cloud. Customers include VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany. IQM grew from 8 customers in 2024 to 22 in 2025, including recent private-sector additions. The company has also established a quantum tech center in Maryland and deployed a system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. IQM will also list on Nasdaq Helsinki, where it expects support from Tesi, Finland's sovereign wealth fund. The company employs around 420 people, with two-thirds based in Espoo, Finland.