CHICAGO — The French quantum computing firm Pasqal announced Thursday it will establish its first U.S. headquarters at Chicago’s emerging quantum research park.
Pasqal plans to invest $65 million into the new facility, which will house one of its quantum computers, and create at least 50 new full-time jobs. The company said the new computer will be the most powerful in the world by the time it is completed.
The firm, co-founded in 2019 by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Alain Aspect, is the latest tenant to join the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, based on Chicago’s Southeast Side. That facility is expected to open in 2027.
The park is located at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on the city’s far southeast side. The location has been vacant for over 30 years since its closure in 1992. The quantum computing facility has received hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding and tax breaks as Gov. JB Pritzker continues his campaign to make Illinois “the leading hub for quantum development in the United States.”
“Over the past few years, we have aggressively pursued a vision to become the undisputed global quantum capital,” Pritzker said Thursday at a news conference. “Quantum presents an opportunity to change the world while creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in economic growth here in Illinois.”
Quantum computing utilizes quantum mechanics to execute calculations that are beyond the capabilities of traditional computers. Pasqal says the computing power is expected to benefit many industries including logistics, finance, telecommunications and energy, among others.
Pasqal Executive Chairman Wasiq Bokhari said opening the new site in Illinois is “a very easy decision,” adding that the move was supported by the state’s Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity, or MICRO, tax credit.
“The Chicago area and the state of Illinois is an epicenter of scientific discovery and innovation,” Bokhari said. “In my mind, there are very few places in the whole world coming close to the kind of capability that is available here.”
The Illinois Finance Authority also helped secure $15 million in cash loans for Pasqal.
Pritzker said Pasqal intends to scale its systems from 200 qubits to 10,000 qubits, which he described as “a dramatic expansion of computing power.”
Pasqal joins other tenants that have signed on since the project was announced last summer, including IBM, Diraq, Infleqtion, Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab. The firm operates subsidiaries in eight countries and employs over 300 people, according to a news release.
Pritzker touted Pasqal’s years of experience in the field, established infrastructure, partnership with IBM and reputation from working with customers including BMW, Siemens and LG.
Harley Johnson, executive director and chief executive officer of the Chicago research park, said he expected the partnership with Pasqal to be fruitful for both parties.
“I sincerely believe there’s no better place to foster these breakthroughs than here in Illinois, and especially on the south side of Chicago, a region whose history is rooted in hard work, ingenuity and global impact,” Johnson said.
Maggie Dougherty is a freelance reporter covering the Chicago area.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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