By Mackenzie Tatananni
The International Year of Quantum may be over, but the hype isn't letting up. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the public market, where a growing number of quantum firms are entering the fray.
A handful of quantum companies have gone public in 2026, all through SPAC mergers rather than the initial public offering route, after a lull last year. They're following a broader pattern: IonQ, D-Wave Quantum, and Rigetti Computing all have done the same over the past half-decade.
On a broader scale, "this year has seen a resurgence of SPAC IPOs, with about 20 per month occurring," said Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida. He's referring to the formation of the blank-check companies that ultimately merge with private firms in what's known as a de-SPAC.
So far this year, three de-SPACs have involved quantum companies. Infleqtion went public in February, followed by Horizon Quantum the following month. The latest contender to enter the arena was Xanadu Quantum Technologies on March 27. Shares of the hardware and software developer surged 15% in their debut.
And there are others on deck. IQM, the Finnish start-up Barron's profiled in September, is set to make its debut next quarter. IQM earlier this month announced its plans to merge with Real Asset Acquisition, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC, in order to go public.
A de-SPAC is an alternative to a traditional IPO that allows private firms to go public more quickly. And for quantum companies in the early innings of commercialization, it's an attractive proposition.
"It means access to capital," Xanadu CEO Christian Weedbrook told Barron's. "The public market is far bigger than the private market, and you wouldn't need access to that large-scale capital if you weren't ready to scale up."
Pasqal CEO Wasiq Bokhari said the company's upcoming SPAC merger and subsequent public listing is the first step toward becoming truly global.
"In terms of access to capital, in terms of capital depth, U.S. markets are the premier markets," he added. "I think everybody knows that."
There were no quantum de-SPACs in 2025, which raises the question: Why now? The most likely explanation is that quantum developers are looking to capitalize on a wave of excitement for the technology, which recently has reached a fever pitch.
This boundless enthusiasm is taking shape up and down Wall Street. BofA Securities touted quantum as the biggest technological milestone since the discovery of fire, while Jefferies cautioned that the technology should be viewed as a national security asset in the race against China.
The success of established players might be encouraging new market entrants. In 2025, IonQ became the first pure-play quantum company to exceed $100 million in annual GAAP revenue, serving as concrete proof of customer demand.
Some newcomers have earned the seal of approval from analysts. Citi Research started Infleqtion at Buy earlier this month, while Northland Securities initiated coverage on Xanadu at Outperform on Monday.
Despite the resurgence of SPAC IPOs, "de-SPACs are still having problems, with most having massive redemptions and big stock price falls after the merger," Ritter told Barron's. However, "because of the high redemption rates, public market investors usually don't lose much money."
Data compiled by Ritter show that, over the past five years, de-SPACs have lost an average of 60% in the 12 months after their mergers. It's too soon to tell how the newest public quantum companies will fare -- and in the end, it may not matter.
Quantum stocks are notoriously unpredictable. None of the publicly traded companies are profitable, with limited, though growing, commercial applications of the technology. Although quantum has steadily racked up more believers, an investment is still viewed as a largely speculative bet.
IonQ, for one, has traded as low as $23.49 and as high as $84.64 over the past 52 weeks, while Rigetti has traded below $8 and above $58 over the same period.
At least one company is set to buck the de-SPAC trend. Quantinuum, the child of Honeywell International and a U.K.-based start-up, has filed confidentially for an IPO. A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Barron's the company could go public as soon as this year.
Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2026 13:56 ET (17:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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