Pasqal Begins Trading on Nasdaq: A Major Milestone for French Deeptech
On Friday, August 28, 2026, Pasqal shares began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PSQL. The French quantum computing company, co-founded by physicist and ENS alumnus Alain Aspect (ENSET), thus joins the ranks of quantum computing companies listed in the United States — a major milestone for French “deeptech.”
A Major Financial Transaction
The transaction was completed through the merger of Pasqal with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on the Nasdaq. The latter’s shareholders approved the transaction on August 25, 2026, paving the way for the listing of the combined entity, now called Pasqal Holding SA. Following the transaction, the company has approximately $360 million in cash, with a pro forma market capitalization of around $2.6 billion.
Pasqal is retaining its headquarters and governance in France, in Palaiseau (Essonne), and still plans to pursue a dual listing on Euronext Paris in the future.
Alain Aspect, from the Cachan Laboratory to Chairman of the Board
Having passed the agrégation in 1969, Alain Aspect conducted part of his research there on laser cooling of atoms, before becoming one of the world’s pioneers in quantum physics. His experiments on entanglement and Bell’s inequalities earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022, which he shared with John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger.
Co-founder of Pasqal in 2019 alongside Georges-Olivier Reymond and Christophe Jurczak, Alain Aspect has served, since the closing of the transaction, as non-executive chairman of the board of directors of the new entity, while continuing to chair its scientific committee. The board, composed of nine directors, also includes Michel Combes (lead independent director), Barbara Dalibard (Chairwoman of Michelin’s Supervisory Board) and Nicolas Berdou, permanent representative of Bpifrance, a long-standing shareholder of the company. The company’s executive management remains under the responsibility of Wasiq Bokhari.
A Technology Born from Fundamental Research
Pasqal develops quantum computers based on neutral atoms trapped by optical tweezers, an approach different from superconducting qubits (IBM, Google) or trapped ions (IonQ, Quantinuum). The funds raised are expected to enable the company to double its production capacity over the next two years, recruit around fifty additional employees and continue developing a fault-tolerant quantum computer, with an industrial target set for the end of the decade.
A Symbol for the Community
From the agrégation in physics to the New York listing of a company valued at several billion dollars, Alain Aspect’s career illustrates a rare trajectory: that of fundamental research leading, several decades later, to a large-scale entrepreneurial venture with a global reach. A story that speaks directly to ENS alumni who, like him, are engaged in research, teaching or innovation.
Sources: Pasqal and Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. II press releases (August 27–28, 2026), Maddyness, Le Monde du Droit, ENS Paris-Saclay.
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