Quantinuum, the quantum computing giant, opened up 13% on its first day of trading and closed with a slight gain of 0.6%.
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Quantum computing company Quantinuum debuted on Nasdaq on Thursday with an opening price of $68, up about 13% from the offering price, giving it a market value of approximately $17.6 billion. This marks a significant event in the recent warming IPO market.
Following an expanded offering, Quantinuum ultimately priced its IPO at $60 per share, higher than the previous guidance range of $53 to $55, raising a total of $1.68 billion. Parent company Honeywell is expected to retain a majority stake after the offering.
The quantum computing sector is receiving dual endorsement from regulators and industry. Last month, the Trump administration's Department of Commerce announced it would provide a total of $2 billion through the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to nine quantum-related ecosystem companies and acquire equity stakes, with Quantinuum receiving $100 million from this amount.
Meanwhile, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and IBM have all been increasing their investments in quantum computing in recent years.
Quantinuum gained 0.63% at Thursday's close.
Strong opening, but company remains in early commercialization stage
Quantinuum had enlarged its issuance prior to the listing, ultimately raising $1.68 billion. The opening price of $68 was about 13% higher than the offering price of $60, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $17.6 billion at the opening price.
The company was founded in 2021 through the merger of Honeywell's quantum computing division and Cambridge Quantum in the UK. Quantinuum positions itself as a "full-stack quantum computing platform," spanning both hardware and software. Its clients include pharmaceutical, materials science, finance, government, and industrial markets, including JPMorgan Chase and Amgen.
Financial data shows the company is still in the early stage of commercialization, with evident pressure on performance.
The prospectus reveals Quantinuum's revenue for the first quarter this year was $5.24 million, a year-on-year decline of 73%; net loss reached $136.5 million, far higher than the $30.5 million loss in the same period last year.
The booking metric, reflecting total value of customer contracts, was $1.3 million in Q1, down from $1.9 million a year earlier.
Quantinuum CEO Rajeeb Hazra told CNBC that the adoption of quantum technology remains at an early stage, but "the demand for such computing resources is absolutely certain." He also emphasized that existing clients are already using the company's commercial hardware and software products.
Government backing, tech giants racing to invest
The Trump administration's policy support injects confidence into the quantum sector.
The Department of Commerce announced preliminary agreements with nine quantum ecosystem companies, with funding from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, through which Quantinuum will receive $100 million as Commerce will also acquire related equity.
Hazra called this government funding "an important recognition of quantum technology and Quantinuum as a strategic asset for the U.S. quantum industry," and said the company will take responsibility for advancing ion-trap quantum computing.
Large tech companies have been continuing to bet on quantum computing in recent years. This week, Microsoft launched a new generation of quantum chips, claiming performance a thousand times better than its previous generation, and stated it hopes to build a scalable quantum computer by 2029.
Quantum computing stocks have performed strongly in recent years but are also prone to significant swings from news.
Rigetti Computing’s share price is more than double what it was a year ago, and IonQ and D-Wave are up over 50% from a year ago. During the broad tech sell-off in Q1 this year, the quantum sector was also dragged down. Infleqtion, which went public via SPAC merger in February, is now about 25% above its listing price.
Quantinuum’s listing comes amid an IPO market rebound. AI chipmaker Cerebras jumped nearly 70% on its trading debut last month.
The market is currently closely watching Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is expected to list on Nasdaq on June 12. Also, Anthropic has confidentially filed for an IPO this week, and OpenAI is reportedly preparing to submit its confidential prospectus in the coming weeks.
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