IQM appoints a Vanguard director to its board as Europe’s inaugural quantum Nasdaq listing approaches.

      IQM Quantum Computers has appointed Vanguard director Barbara Venneman to its board as it moves closer to a $1.8 billion Nasdaq listing, marking a first for a European quantum computing firm. Venneman, who is currently on Vanguard's board and previously led Deloitte Digital globally, brings significant public-market experience to IQM ahead of a shareholder vote set for June 25 concerning a merger with Real Asset Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: RAAQ), a special purpose acquisition company based in Princeton, New Jersey. This merger, announced in February with a pre-money valuation of $1.8 billion, would result in IQM's primary listing on Nasdaq and a potential dual listing on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, following the SEC's approval of the registration statement on June 5.

      Since February, momentum for the transaction has increased, particularly after IQM and RAAQ announced an upsized PIPE of $146 million in early June, up from an earlier commitment of $134 million, thanks to the involvement of Finnish pension insurer Ilmarinen and existing institutional investors. Alongside funds from RAAQ’s trust account, an earlier €50 million financing from BlackRock, and IQM’s existing funds totaling $172 million, IQM expects to have over $450 million in cash by the closing of the deal.

      IQM differentiates itself from cloud-only quantum providers by creating full-stack superconducting quantum computers intended for on-premises deployment, allowing customers to have direct ownership of the hardware instead of merely API access to shared systems. The company has sold 21 quantum systems to 13 clients, including four of the world's ten largest supercomputing centers, and claims to account for 15% of all publicly disclosed quantum systems globally. It has projected 2025 revenue of around €31 million ($36 million) and over $100 million in cumulative bookings and order visibility. Established in 2018 as a spinout from Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, IQM now has more than 400 employees across Europe, Asia, and North America. Its technology partners include Nvidia, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and AWS, which made IQM’s Garnet processor the first quantum system offered via AWS cloud in the EU.

      Venneman has over 30 years of expertise in digital transformation and enterprise technology commercialization. She also serves on the board of advisors at Decagon.AI, an enterprise AI software company, and holds an MBA from McGill University and a computer science degree from the Université de Montréal. IQM’s board chair, Sierk Poetting, stated that her experience in enterprise technology commercialization, AI, and governance will be beneficial as IQM expands its commercial footprint in the US.

      Additionally, the board has undergone a reshuffle, with CEO and co-founder Jan Goetz taking over from co-founder Juha Vartiainen as the founder representative, streamlining executive and governance leadership in light of upcoming public company reporting obligations.

      IQM is not the only quantum computing firm pursuing the SPAC route to go public; Infleqtion listed on the NYSE earlier this month, while Horizon Quantum Computing is also following a similar path. The SPAC structure has inherent risks, as evidenced by the widespread underperformance following the 2021 wave of blank-cheque listings. IQM’s deal will test whether a European hardware company with substantial revenue, institutional backing from BlackRock and Finnish pension funds, and a valuation of $1.8 billion can succeed in this environment.