Insider Brief
- Two quantum companies, Alice & Bob and Pasqal, have been named to France’s 2025 Tech Next40/120 list, highlighting the government’s strategic support for scaling quantum technologies.
- Alice & Bob, included in the elite Next40 group, is developing self-correcting cat qubits aimed at reducing the hardware burden of fault-tolerant quantum computing.
- Pasqal, a French Tech 120 honoree, builds quantum processors using neutral atoms and recently expanded through its acquisition of photonics company AEPONYX.
A small but growing group of quantum companies has landed on France’s prestigious Tech Next40/120 list, signaling a strategic push to elevate quantum technology from research to real-world impact.
The sixth edition of the French Tech Next40/120, announced June 5, 2025, includes two quantum-focused firms — Alice & Bob and Pasqal — among the country’s most promising technology scale-ups. The annual program, run by Mission French Tech, is designed to provide tailored support to 120 fast-growing French companies with global potential. Inclusion on the list suggests France is not just investing in quantum science but positioning startups as central to the country’s economic and technological future.
Alice & Bob: A Next40 Pick Betting on Cat Qubits
Alice & Bob, which appears on the higher-tier Next40 list, is one of France’s quantum computer innovators.
“This selection further solidifies our position at the forefront of quantum technology and highlights our potential to revolutionize industries with scalable, error-corrected quantum computers,” Théau Peronnin, CEO and co-founder of Alice & Bob, said in a statement.
The Paris-based company, founded in 2020, is developing a novel hardware architecture based on cat qubits, which are superconducting circuits engineered to resist certain types of quantum noise.
The company’s core innovation is a single logical qubit that can correct its own errors, dramatically reducing the number of physical qubits needed for error correction. Alice & Bob reports that these innovations are crucial to overcoming one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing: creating machines that can perform reliable, large-scale computations to solve real-world problems.
Alice & Bob’s inclusion in the Next40 indicates the government’s confidence in the company’s long-term trajectory. The program offers enhanced visibility, fast-track regulatory help, and business development support, especially relevant as the startup eyes international clients in cryptography and simulation.
“To secure a spot in this exclusive group, startups must meet specific metrics for net sales figures, annual growth funds raised over three years,” said Julie Huguet, Director at the Mission French Tech, in a statement. “Alice & Bob joins an elite group of forward-thinking tech companies leading their respective industries.”
Pasqal: A French Tech 120 Quantum Platform
The other quantum startup on the list is Pasqal, featured in the broader French Tech 120 cohort. Based in Massy, Pasqal builds quantum processors using neutral atoms—individual atoms trapped and manipulated with lasers to perform computations.
Founded in 2019 as a neutral atom quantum spinoff from Institut d’Optique, Pasqal emerged from the pioneering work led by quantum physicist Alain Aspect, who later received the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Founded in 2019 by Institut d’Optique scientist Alain Aspect, Pasqal has secured nearly $140 million in funding, according to The Quantum Insider’s Intelligence Platform, and merged with Dutch software startup Qu&Co in 2022 to offer full-stack quantum solutions. Pasqal recently announced the acquisition of AEPONYX, a Canadian company specializing in photonic integrated circuits (PICs), as part of its strategy to accelerate the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing.
The company is noted for focusing on real-world applications, such as energy grid optimization, fluid dynamics in aerospace, and quantum machine learning.
Signals of State Strategy
Both Alice & Bob and Pasqal benefit from a national ecosystem designed to translate academic research into industrial power. The French Tech Next40/120 program evaluates candidates using objective metrics: revenue for customer trust and fundraising for investor confidence. These are especially relevant in quantum, where commercial revenue may trail technical validation for years.
Companies in the cohort gain direct access to government agencies, help navigating regulations, and introductions to public and private buyers. For deep tech players with complex hardware pipelines and long R&D cycles, this state scaffolding is often essential.
