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04 Jun 2025
Paris-based Pasqal acquires PIC developer Aeponyx; IonQ adds diamond-based interconnect startup Lightsynq.
Pasqal and IonQ, two companies at the cutting edge of quantum computing hardware, have extended their capabilities with the respective acquisitions of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) developer Aeponyx and optical interconnect startup Lightsynq.
Headquartered in Paris, France, Pasqal is working on quantum processors built around laser-suspended neutral atoms in 2D and 3D arrays. The company, which emerged from the Institut d’Optique in 2019 and was co-founded by Nobel laureate Alain Aspect among others, has so far raised more than €140 million.
An unspecified portion of that cash has now been used to acquire Canada-based Aeponyx. It offers a PIC platform combining the benefits of silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides and MEMS fabrication that promises to both shrink the quantum systems and help scale to much larger numbers of qubits.
Optical coupling
“This strategic move strengthens Pasqal’s hardware platform and accelerates the company’s roadmap to fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC), a critical milestone toward unlocking quantum’s full potential,” stated the Paris company.
“Controlling the light that manipulates these atoms requires extreme precision, more than traditional systems can provide,” the firm explains. “Aeponyx’s PICs offer a compact, stable, and efficient way to generate and control the complex light fields required to trap, arrange, and entangle these atoms.
“Embedding this technology directly into Pasqal’s processors brings a new level of accuracy, robustness and scalability to the complex optics needed to run a quantum computer.”
Aeponyx says that its approach circumvents the complex and costly active alignment steps typically associated with hybrid integration by instead using so-called "photonic wire bonding".
This allows direct and self-aligned writing of waveguides to enable mode field matching between devices that may have very different optical mode sizes.
"This production-friendly process allows the direct implementation of optical coupling links at wafer and single-device levels," explains the Montréal firm, adding that it combines the technological maturity of hybrid integration techniques with significant cost reduction and a fast time-to-market.
Atomic control
Pasqal CEO Loïc Henriet added: “Aeponyx has built some of the most precise and scalable light-control chips available now. By combining their technology with our neutral-atom architecture, we’re tightening our control over a critical part of the hardware stack.
“This gives us a competitive edge in scalability, advanced individual control of qubits, and hardware stability - three main goals every quantum company must achieve to deliver value at scale.”
It is hoped that by replacing bulky but delicate optical setups with chip-scale photonic circuits Pasqal will dramatically increase the stability of atomic control and the precision of individual qubit manipulation - while also simplifying the scaling path from hundreds to thousands of qubits thought needed to create a practical quantum computer.
Philippe Babin, who has been the CEO of Aeponyx since 2014, added: “Quantum computing is crossing a threshold from proof-of-concept to real, usable processors. Joining Pasqal means our photonics will help power that leap. Together, we’re not just making better quantum machines - we’re building the foundation of a new computing era.”
IonQ adds diamond links
Meanwhile NYSE-listed IonQ, which is already working closely with Denmark-based laser provider NKT Photonics and the Belgian research center imec on its quantum technology development, has now acquired the Boston-based startup Lightsynq Technologies.
Founded by quantum technology researchers from Harvard University and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Lightsynq is developing photonic interconnects based around synthetic diamond optics provided by investor Element Six, and emerged from stealth mode last November with a series A venture round of $18 million.
The interconnect platform is aimed at supporting high-fidelity, multi-nodal qubit operations and modularity, seen as essential for scaling quantum technology. “[Lightsynq’s] innovations in quantum memory and repeater technology complement IonQ’s trapped-ion quantum computing approach, and will advance IonQ’s quantum networking systems,” announced IonQ.
Its CEO Niccolo de Masi commented: “This deal accelerates the shift from experimental bulk optics to scalable optical chips, moving us closer to commercializing our next generation of advanced quantum technologies and the quantum internet.”
“IonQ is already a leader in enterprise-grade quantum computing and networking, and by joining forces, we’re accelerating the path to modular architectures that will deliver data-center-scale quantum computers in the future,” added Lightsynq CEO Mihir Bhaskar.
“Our work will enable IonQ’s systems to network at speed and scale, laying the foundation for distributed quantum computing.”
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