en.Wedoany.com Reported - European quantum computing company IQM began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 2 under the ticker symbol "IQMX," becoming the first European quantum company to list on a major US exchange. Rather than going public through a traditional initial public offering (IPO), the company completed its listing by merging with a US shell company, resulting in a pro forma cash reserve of €337 million upon completion of the transaction.

IQM stated that it has sold 23 full-stack quantum computers worldwide, surpassing any competitor, with buyers including Italy's CINECA, Germany's Leibniz Supercomputing Centre, and the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. More notably, IQM has not relocated to the US for reincorporation like other European deep-tech companies, but has remained in place. Founded in 2018 as a spin-off from Aalto University, the company still keeps two-thirds of its 420 employees in Espoo, near Helsinki, and maintains a large base in Munich. The day after its New York listing, IQM also listed on Nasdaq Helsinki, allowing state fund Tesi and local pension insurance companies to remain on the shareholder register, with BlackRock also participating in the investment before the listing. Tom Henriksson of early investor OpenOcean said this proves that European companies can access large US capital "without relocating their core R&D and ambitions."

IQM reported 2025 revenue of €31 million and an order backlog exceeding €67 million, rare hard data in the quantum field. In comparison, Honeywell-backed Quantinuum, despite very small sales, has applied for a traditional IPO valued at up to $20 billion; while US-listed IonQ and Rigetti remain loss-making. Chairman Sierk Poetting called the listing "not a change of direction, but an acceleration," and CEO Jan Goetz sees it as a turning point, believing "the organization is moving from exploration to implementation."

Market reaction has been less certain. IQM's stock traded below its issue price for most of its first day. TechCrunch attributed this lukewarm response to a striking statement in the company's prospectus: "Large-scale commercial traction for quantum computing technology may never materialize." Currently, quantum machines are useful for narrow simulation and optimization tasks, but the "quantum advantage" that would disrupt drug discovery, finance, and cryptography has no confirmed arrival date. French competitor Pasqal is also preparing for its own listing. For now, IQM has planted a flag: a European deep-tech leader can list in New York while still calling Helsinki home. Whether US investors will continue to support it is the next test.