French quantum computing company Pasqal has sold a quantum computer and opened a manufacturing facility in Canada.

The company this week announced the sale of a 100-qubit quantum processing unit (QPU) to Distriq, a ‘Quantum Innovation Zone’ based in Sherbrooke that functions as a catalyst for Québec’s quantum ecosystem.

The purchase of the quantum computer was funded by a CA$9.6 million (US$7.1m) loan from the Québec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE) and Investissement Québec, CA$2.4 million (US$1.8m) in financing from the National Bank of Canada, and CA$1.2 million (US$883,031) from CED (Canada Economic Development for Québec regions).

According to the company, the system will be fully manufactured and installed in Sherbrooke, with the quantum computing resources to be made accessible to Canadian researchers and industries.

The factory in Sherbrooke, a city in Québec, is the company’s first in North America, and second overall – the first is located in Massay, to the south of French capital Paris.

Located within the 50,000 sq ft (4,645 sqm) Espace Quantique 1 building in Sherbrooke, the plant will produce Pasqal’s next-generation quantum processors. A CA$15 million (US$11m) loan was issued to the company by Investissement Québec in 2023 to support the factory’s construction, with the investment making Pasqal one of the largest quantum computing companies operating in Canada.

“The opening of our first North American factory and the sale of another QPU to a leading innovation zone are not just milestones, they are proof points”, said Pasqal’s executive chairman, Wasiq Bokhari. “Pasqal is executing on its industrial roadmap, scaling production, and creating tangible value for customers today. These achievements signal to the market that quantum computing is no longer a future promise – it has become a reality today.”

Mehdi Bozzo-Rey, VP growth and partnerships, Distriq, added: “The acquisition of Pasqal’s quantum computer by Distriq represents a major milestone in equipping Québec with cutting-edge quantum technologies. Manufactured in Sherbrooke, this computer will support the development of an ecosystem focused on industrial applications of quantum computing.”

Pasqal was founded in 2019, and its co-founder, Professor Alain Aspect, was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2022 for his work on entangled photons. In January 2023, the company raised US$108 million and has since gone on to install quantum computers in Saudi Arabia and Germany.

Earlier this month, the company announced it had acquired Canadian photonic integrated circuits (PICs) company Aeponyx for an undisclosed amount.