Seoul Attracts French Quantum Computing Firm 'Pasqal'... $75 Million Investment Partnership

Three Consecutive Strategic Industry Investments Following AI and Semiconductors
$75.2 Million Investment and 51 New Jobs
Establishment of Next-Generation Quantum Computing R&D Center

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has successfully attracted France's leading quantum computing company, Pasqal. The two organizations plan to collaborate on establishing an industry-academia-research-government joint research and development (R&D) network, nurturing core quantum talent, and supporting companies developing quantum-related technologies.

On October 29, at Seoul City Hall, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pasqal regarding the establishment of a quantum computer research and development center. The agreement includes a total investment of 52.84 million dollars (approximately 75.2 billion won) and the creation of 51 new jobs.

Seoul City Hall exterior. Seoul City

The signing ceremony was attended by Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, Georges-Olivier Reymond, Co-founder and Chief Strategic Partnership Officer of Pasqal, Philippe Bertoux, French Ambassador to Korea, Roberto Mauro, Head of Pasqal Korea, and about ten other participants.

Pasqal is a quantum computer company specializing in neutral atom technology, founded in 2019 by five individuals, including 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Alain Aspect, Georges-Olivier Reymond, and Antoine Browaeys. Its headquarters are located in Massy-Palaiseau near Paris, France. The company operates quantum computer research and manufacturing hubs in eight countries, including the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia, and currently employs 300 talents.

Pasqal was the first in the world to commercialize a 200-qubit quantum computer and succeeded in demonstrating a 1,000-qubit system in 2024. The company is also advancing a roadmap for next-generation "fault-tolerant quantum computers," which can detect and correct errors during computation, and is engaged in technological collaborations with global companies such as IBM, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google, and LG Electronics.

This year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government succeeded in attracting investments from Snowflake, a U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) and data cloud company, Swiss quantum security semiconductor company Silsq, and now France's leading quantum computing company, Pasqal.

With this agreement, Seoul and Pasqal will work together to establish Seoul as a core hub city for the quantum computing industry. Currently, Seoul is proactively fostering the quantum industry by hosting quantum science and technology seminars and forums, nurturing talent for technology commercialization (through the Seoul Quantum Campus industrial specialist program), constructing a Quantum Technology Convergence Support Center in the Hongneung Special Zone, and creating the Seoul Quantum Hub to support the scaling up of companies through AI-quantum computing technology convergence, thereby expanding the quantum industry ecosystem.

Over time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has held ongoing meetings with Pasqal's headquarters and Korean branch to actively promote Seoul's competitiveness in research and development infrastructure, location, and talent. Despite challenging economic conditions at home and abroad, the city organized site tours (for the Korean branch) and investment environment briefings. After close consultations with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Pasqal's investment in establishing a research and development center in Seoul was finalized.

Georges-Olivier Reymond, Chief Strategic Partnership Officer, stated, "Today marks a significant milestone in Pasqal's journey to become a global leader in quantum computing, and it will also serve as a critical turning point for Seoul to develop into a global quantum hub." Mayor Oh also remarked, "Seoul is actively building a Seoul-style quantum industry ecosystem to proactively respond to future technological changes led by quantum computing. Through this agreement, we will once again demonstrate Seoul's technological competitiveness and investment appeal, and we will spare no effort in providing administrative and financial support."