German-Finnish quantum computer manufacturer IQM plans IPO

The German-Finnish startup IQM has announced an IPO. For this purpose, the manufacturer of quantum computers will merge with a so-called Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), which is already listed on the stock exchange.

It is not yet clear whether IQM will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the tech exchange Nasdaq. The company, based in Espoo and Munich, aims to raise 450 million US dollars in the IPO planned for June, according to its statements. This would value the company at 1.8 billion US dollars.

IQM is a unicorn

IQM is already a so-called unicorn: after the last financing round in September 2025, IQM was valued at around one billion dollars, according to the business newspaper Handelsblatt.

IQM is considered the leading European quantum computer company. It developed, among other things, the quantum computer that was recently put into operation at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) in Garching near Munich in operation. In total, IQM has sold 21 of its computers to date, according to its statements.

“We built IQM for a purpose from the beginning: to provide people with functioning quantum computers for solving real problems. Not sometime – now,” said Jan Goetz, CEO and one of the founders of IQM. “Quantum computing is no longer a scientific project. It is an industry where customers own, operate, and build on advanced quantum computers. IQM makes that possible.”

IQM was founded in 2018 in Finland as a spin-off of Aalto University in Espoo. In 2020, the company opened an office in Munich. About 90 of the approximately 330 employees work there.

(wpl)