Photo from the listing ceremony of Horizon Quantum at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City on Friday, March 20, 2026.
Quantum computing companies are defying turbulent markets to go public this year, as companies try to raise money to capitalize on recent scientific breakthroughs and bring the experimental technology closer to commercialization.
One such firm, xanadu quantumThe maker of quantum computing hardware and software began trading on the Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday, rising 15% in the US after a rough debut on public markets.
xanadu quantum – Chip giant’s quantum partner NVIDIA – Crane Harbor Acquisition followed a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), also known as a ‘blank-check firm’.
A SPAC is a shell company created specifically to raise capital through an initial public offering, and they have become a common route for quantum startups to list.
Xanadu’s listing comes a week after Singapore-based Quantum Software Company horizon quantum The business began after a merger with blank-check company dMY Squared Technology Group.
The narrative has shifted from a science project to a commercial trajectory, and companies are taking advantage of that window.
Velu Sinha
Partner, Bain & Company
DMY Technology Group took over IonQ It went public in 2021 through a merger with one of its shell companies, making it the first publicly traded, pure-play quantum computing company.
Since then, SPACs, which offer a quicker path to listing with less regulatory scrutiny, have become a popular route for quantum companies to raise capital.
Quantum computing uses the principles of quantum mechanics to process information in ways classical computers cannot, with potential applications in drug discovery, materials science, cryptography and more. Although the technology remains experimental, it is widely seen as potentially game-changing.
why now?
The recent wave of quantum listings comes at a tumultuous time for global markets, as conflict in the Middle East continues to weaken investor confidence, especially in risky, speculative assets like quantum companies.
Despite its first-day low, the Nasdaq-listed stock xanadu The stock fell more than 10% in after-hours trading. Horizon Quantum, meanwhile, has fallen about 18% since its debut inflectionThe stock, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in February through a blank-check deal on Feb. 17, has fallen more than 30%.
Still, companies seem willing to weather these volatile markets to take advantage of recent industry successes.
Dr. Joe Fitzsimmons, founder and CEO of Horizon Quantum, told CNBC, “Of course, it’s an interesting time to enter the public markets with everything that’s happening in the world… but for quantum computing, it’s actually a very ideal time to come out.”
“We’re really starting to reach a turning point,” he said. He said a significant number of successes have been achieved in the last 18 months.
Christian Weedbrook, Chief Executive Officer of Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., with a quantum computer at the company’s office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on February 24, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | getty images
In 2024 and 2025, several companies and research groups will demonstrate improved quantum error correction, a key requirement for building reliable machines.
Other milestones include higher qubit count – which increases the potential size and complexity of problems a quantum computer can pose and help solve – and coherent timing, which allows more reliable calculations by reducing the impact of noise and errors.
“The first demonstration of practical quantum advantage is expected to occur at approximately 100 logical qubits – a limit the industry is reaching by 2028-2029,” Bain & Company partner Velu Sinha told CNBC.
“But for commercially impactful applications like drug discovery or large-scale logistics optimization, you need 1,000 to 10,000 logical qubits, which is more likely in the mid-2030s,” he said.
This so-called “quantum advantage” refers to the theoretical milestone in which quantum computers solve real-world problems faster, more efficiently, or more accurately than the best-known classical supercomputers.
a changing story
Investments in this area are increasing as companies race to achieve quantum advantage. Tech giants including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM have invested millions in the technology, though they have largely avoided spinning out standalone public entities.
“The narrative has shifted from a science project to a commercial trajectory, and companies are taking advantage of that window,” Sinha said.
He said, “Quantum is one of those technology categories that investors view as structurally inevitable… The addressable market at full maturity is estimated at $100 to $250 billion, giving patient capital a reason to watch near-term volatility.”
Early commercial applications are also emerging in areas such as optimization, financial modeling, and chemical simulation.
“The time (to go public) is right as quantum, and specifically neutral atoms, are moving from scientific advancements to commercial relevance,” Inflexion CEO Matthew Kinsella told CNBC.
“Going public gives us the capital to accelerate commercialization and invest behind markets where we already see customer demand… We think commercialization will happen in phases, with (quantum sensing and quantum timing) leading in the near term and computing expanding as performance continues to grow.”
For small quantum upstarts, near-term revenue opportunities are critical to securing investor support for their long-term research.
For example, Horizon Quantum Computing has focused on developing software tools that can run on both classical and quantum systems, positioning the company to generate revenue before quantum hardware becomes viable on a large scale.
The company’s CEO said the newly raised funds will be used to expand its research team and launch an early iteration of its software for early access users this year.
Xanadu Quantum has also invested in a cloud-based platform that allows developers to get paid to experiment with quantum algorithms using existing hardware.
From laboratories to the real world
Historically, governments have played a key role in developing the quantum sector due to the heavy capital requirements.
The United States, China, and the European Union have invested billions of dollars in quantum research and commercialization with the aim of gaining strategic advantages in computing and cybersecurity.
Government initiatives often focus on or involve the support of universities and national laboratories.
However, the latest wave of public listings underscores how the industry is shifting from academic and public research toward commercial markets, even as the timeline for widespread adoption remains uncertain.
“Quantum computers are going to be able to do trillions of calculations instantly, and that will completely revolutionize the way we work with computing,” said Mark Einstein, research director at Counterpoint Research.
The day may be years away when individuals will have quantum computers in their offices or homes, Einstein said. But a future in which large organizations own the machinery and provide quantum computing services may be coming much sooner, he said.
