Paris-based Pasqal, which builds quantum computers, has bought Canadian photonics startup Aeponyx for an undisclosed sum.
The deal marks Pasqal’s third acquisition after it bought Dutch quantum software developer Qu&Co in 2022 and French cryogenics startup My Cryo Firm the same year.
Pasqal, which launched in 2019 and has raised over €140m to date, is one of Europe’s most promising companies in the race to build quantum computers — devices expected to have unprecedented computational capacity once they are fully scaled.
For now quantum computers are too small and too error-prone to have a real-world impact. Acquiring Aeponyx and integrating the startup’s technology will enable Pasqal to improve its hardware and accelerate the path to useful quantum computers, says CEO Loïc Henriet.
“It’s a positive moment that shows the ecosystem is maturing,” Henriet tells Sifted. “The needs and roadmaps are clearer, and some players are joining forces because alignment is likely to benefit everyone.”
Aeponyx’s 27 employees will join Pasqal’s team of 300. The French startup already has a subsidiary in Canada, where it is planning to open a factory in the next few weeks.
What does Aeponyx do?
Quantum computers rely on qubits, or quantum bits, which are tiny particles that carry quantum information. Qubits are extremely unstable, meaning they are hard to manipulate and control, especially as they increase in number — and is the main reason quantum computers are hard to scale.
Qubits can be created thanks to different types of particles; Pasqal uses atoms, which it traps and manipulates with light thanks to lasers.
“A laser is a big box of 40cm by 30cm by 20cm,” says Henriet. “It’s not easy to have precise individual control for each qubit and to have thousands of independent controls at the same time, with laser technology.”
Aeponyx develops photonic integrated circuits (PICs), a type of chip that controls particles of light. PICs are used in a range of industries requiring fast data transfers such as telecoms and data centres.
“PICs are more compact, smaller, and scalable,” says Henriet. “They mean we can have thousands of independent sources so that each one of our qubits can be trapped and controlled.”
Error correction
Integrating Aeponyx’s technology will enable Pasqal to accelerate its efforts to develop so-called ‘fault tolerant’ quantum computers, which can detect and correct their own errors.
This means creating ‘error-corrected qubits’ — a type of qubit that can be encoded in a larger pool of error-prone qubits known as ‘physical qubits’. Error correction requires, therefore, heaps of qubits: currently around 1,000 physical qubits are necessary to create one fully error-corrected one.
Pasqal’s latest quantum computers can support fewer than 1,000 qubits. But as PICs enable more stable and precise atom control, the company expects that number to scale quickly.
From 2026, says Henriet, Pasqal will start integrating Aeponyx’s PICs, meaning that from 2027-2028 the company will be producing its first devices with error correction.
The startup’s roadmap, announced last year, pointed to 10k qubits in 2026.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/pasqal-acquires-aeponyx/
