IQM, Europe’s first public quantum company, admits the future of the tech is uncertain

IQM：欧洲首家上市量子计算公司，坦言该技术未来充满不确定性

IQM, a full-stack quantum company out of Finland, went public on the Nasdaq Thursday via a SPAC merger at a valuation of about $1.9 billion. But share prices didn’t pop. They spent most the day below the IPO price — a lukewarm welcome. 来自芬兰的全栈量子计算公司 IQM 周四通过 SPAC（特殊目的收购公司）合并在纳斯达克上市，估值约为 19 亿美元。然而，股价并未出现大涨，全天大部分时间都低于 IPO 发行价，市场反应平淡。

SPAC mergers are often not immediately popular with retail investors these days. But this fizzle was arguably fueled by IQM’s own admission in its prospectus that “large-scale commercial traction of quantum computing technology may never occur.” In fairness, this warning applies to all quantum companies. 如今，SPAC 合并往往难以立即获得散户投资者的青睐。但此次上市遇冷，很大程度上源于 IQM 在招股书中坦承：“量子计算技术可能永远无法实现大规模的商业化应用。”平心而论，这一警告适用于所有量子计算公司。

Yet, that hasn’t stopped the industry, including IQM, from acquiring customers, who use the tech as it is today for tasks like simulations and optimizations. IQM, which sells actual physical computers, as well as a cloud service, has customers like VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Leibniz Supercomputing Centre in Germany. 尽管如此，这并没有阻碍包括 IQM 在内的整个行业获取客户。这些客户目前正利用现有的量子技术进行模拟和优化等任务。IQM 不仅销售实体量子计算机，还提供云服务，其客户包括芬兰 VTT 技术研究中心和德国莱布尼茨超级计算中心。

“We sell computers into advanced supercomputing centers and data centers, and we sell computing time through the cloud,” its CEO and co-founder Jan Goetz told TechCrunch. Having grown from eight customers in 2024 to 22 in 2025 is a fair motive for celebration in IQM’s circles, especially when two recent customers are from the private sector. “我们将计算机销售给先进的超级计算中心和数据中心，并通过云端出售计算时间，”其首席执行官兼联合创始人 Jan Goetz 告诉 TechCrunch。客户数量从 2024 年的 8 家增长到 2025 年的 22 家，这在 IQM 内部确实值得庆祝，尤其是其中两家新客户来自私营部门。

But it also suggests that demand won’t scale until the “quantum advantage” — when quantum chips start outperforming classical computers for a larger range of complex and lengthy tasks, unlocking use cases from biotech to fintech, while potentially upending encryption. But no one, not even a company making quantum computers, can say when that might be. 但这同时也表明，在实现“量子优势”之前，需求难以实现规模化。所谓“量子优势”，是指量子芯片在处理更广泛、更复杂的长任务时开始超越传统计算机，从而解锁从生物技术到金融科技的各种应用场景，并可能颠覆现有的加密技术。然而，没有人——即便是制造量子计算机的公司——能说清楚这一天何时到来。

This hasn’t stopped investors from doubling down on quantum companies public and private, further encouraged by President Trump’s recent executive orders to accelerate the timeline for quantum. In response, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed to deploying “the world’s first fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computer” by 2028. 但这并没有阻止投资者继续加码上市及非上市的量子计算公司，特朗普总统近期签署的旨在加速量子技术发展的行政命令进一步提振了市场信心。作为回应，美国能源部（DOE）已承诺在 2028 年前部署“世界上第一台具有科学意义的容错量子计算机”。

While this follows similar announcements from France, Germany, and the U.K., Trump’s orders carry extra weight for IQM, which has recently established a quantum tech center in Maryland and deployed a computer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is part of the DOE. “We can benefit directly from it,” Goetz said. 虽然法国、德国和英国此前也发布过类似声明，但特朗普的行政命令对 IQM 而言意义重大。IQM 最近在马里兰州建立了量子技术中心，并在隶属于美国能源部的橡树岭国家实验室部署了一台计算机。“我们可以直接从中受益，”Goetz 表示。

Unlike other European unicorns, however, IQM isn’t moving its center of gravity to the other side of the Atlantic. In parallel to its IQMX ticker in the U.S., where most of its quantum peers are listed, it is due to debut tomorrow on Nasdaq Helsinki, where it expects continued support from the likes of Tesi, Finland’s sovereign wealth fund. 然而，与其他欧洲独角兽公司不同，IQM 并未将其重心转移到大西洋彼岸。除了在美国以 IQMX 为代码上市（大多数量子同行都在美国上市）外，它还将于明天在纳斯达克赫尔辛基交易所挂牌，并期待获得芬兰主权财富基金 Tesi 等机构的持续支持。

IQM’s story is indissociable from Finland. It was founded there in 2018 as a spinout from Aalto University in Espoo, a tech and quantum hub near Helsinki where two-thirds of its staff still work. But another hundred out of its 420-people team are based in Munich, with the remainder split around various locations to help the company in its global deployment roadmap. IQM 的发展历程与芬兰密不可分。公司于 2018 年在芬兰成立，是从埃斯波的阿尔托大学剥离出来的。埃斯波是赫尔辛基附近的一个科技和量子中心，公司三分之二的员工仍在那里工作。但在其 420 人的团队中，另有 100 人位于慕尼黑，其余人员分布在不同地点，以支持公司的全球部署路线图。

In its prospectus, IQM noted that this duality appealed to RAAQ, the blank check company that helped IQM go public via a SPAC. “As evidenced by over €200 million in public support for IQM, European sovereign states and companies have supported IQM’s emergence as a prominent quantum computing company in Europe. IQM also demonstrated its ability to operate outside of Europe,” according to the RAAQ board. 在招股书中，IQM 指出这种双重布局吸引了 RAAQ——即帮助 IQM 通过 SPAC 上市的空壳公司。RAAQ 董事会表示：“超过 2 亿欧元的公共支持证明，欧洲主权国家和企业一直支持 IQM 成为欧洲杰出的量子计算公司。同时，IQM 也证明了其在欧洲以外地区运营的能力。”

Despite global ambitions, Goetz expressed pride at IQM becoming the first European quantum company to list in the U.S. — within a hair’s breadth, as French competitor Pasqal also announced plans to go public via a SPAC. “It always feels good to be first and to be a pioneer, but ultimately it’s about long-term success,” Goetz said. 尽管拥有全球雄心，Goetz 对 IQM 成为首家在美国上市的欧洲量子计算公司感到自豪——尽管这只是以微弱优势领先，因为法国竞争对手 Pasqal 也宣布了通过 SPAC 上市的计划。“成为第一和先驱总是感觉很好，但归根结底，关键在于长期的成功，”Goetz 说道。

The operation will generate new liquidity for IQM — approximately €198 million after costs, or $226 million. But the company had already raised $300 million last September. “It’s a big success raising very shortly after the Series B,” Goetz said. This also reflects that IQM’s main goal was to position itself more prominently in a race still full of unknowns. 此次操作将为 IQM 带来新的流动性——扣除成本后约为 1.98 亿欧元（约合 2.26 亿美元）。但该公司去年 9 月已经筹集了 3 亿美元。“在 B 轮融资后不久再次成功融资是一项巨大的成就，”Goetz 说。这也反映出 IQM 的主要目标是在这场充满未知的竞赛中占据更显著的地位。