Finnish quantum computing company IQM Quantum Computers has announced plans to go public thanks to a merger with US special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Real Asset Acquisition Corp. (RAAQ).
The move will make IQM, which builds and deploys quantum computers, the first quantum startup in Europe to be listed on the public markets.
The transaction is subject to shareholders’ approval and other regulatory requirements and will value IQM at $1.8bn pre-money. It will enable the scaleup to list on the New York-based Nasdaq stock exchange, and the company says it is considering a dual listing to trade on the Helsinki stock exchange as well.
IQM expects the listing to generate more than $300m in funding, including $175m of cash held in RAAQ’s trust accounts and $134m of private investments. Together with IQM’s current balance sheet of $172m, this will provide the company with $450m of cash at closing.
This will enable IQM to accelerate its research and development (R&D) roadmap and double down on commercialisation.
IQM, which raised a $320m Series B last year, says it has secured $35m in revenues in 2025 and deployed 15 quantum systems to date. A recent report found the scaleup ranks first globally in the number of quantum computers sold (based on deliveries that have been publicly announced by manufacturers).
What is a SPAC?
SPACs are shell companies listed on public markets, created solely to acquire private companies to take them public.
While extremely popular in 2021, which saw 613 SPAC listings in the US, they have proven challenging for some European companies. Healthtech company Babylon Health went public in 2021 with a valuation of over $4bn, only to file for bankruptcy two years later. Another example is eVTOL startup Lilium, which also faced insolvency after a SPAC listing.
Several quantum companies in the US, including IonQ, Rigetti Computing and Infleqtion, have listed in the past years thanks to a merger with a SPAC.
