Insider Brief
- Crédit Agricole CIB and Pasqal have signed a strategic partnership to accelerate the industrial deployment of quantum computing for capital markets, targeting initial production use cases by 2028.
- The partnership builds on collaboration that began in 2019, with previous projects exploring quantum algorithms for counterparty credit risk measurement and portfolio optimization.
- The next phase will focus on quantum-inspired algorithms, quantum experimentation on Pasqal’s neutral-atom systems, and hybrid quantum-classical workflows for monitoring capital reserve consumption and risk-weighted assets.
Press release – Crédit Agricole CIB, the financing and investment banking arm of Crédit Agricole Group, and Pasqal, a global leader in neutral atom quantum computing, announced the signing of a strategic partnership to accelerate the transition from quantum research to operational deployment in capital markets activities.
Building on a collaboration initiated in 2019, the partnership enters a new phase focused on the industrialization of quantum computing applications, with initial production use cases targeted as early as 2028.
An Innovation Trajectory Validated by Concrete Results
Since 2021, Crédit Agricole CIB and Pasqal have conducted several major projects focusing on counterparty credit default risk measurement and portfolio optimization to improve the Bank’s capital efficiency. The results indicate that quantum algorithms can, under specific conditions and use cases, improve performance compared to classical approaches for capital markets and risk management applications, supporting the business case for production deployment. The partners believe there may be an opportunity to unlock additional value as quantum hardware and algorithms continue to mature.
A clear Roadmap to Production (2026-2028)
The next phase of the partnership will focus on monitoring capital reserve consumption. linked with risk-weighted assets.
This roadmap is structured around three activities:
- Enhanced classical production: Deployment of quantum-inspired algorithms on existing IT infrastructure, aiming to deliver immediate performance improvements without reliance on quantum hardware
- Quantum experimentation: Operational testing on Pasqal’s neutral atom quantum computers to validate real-world performance under production conditions
- Hybrid large-scale deployment: Integration of classical and quantum computing resources with the goal of solving complex problems beyond the reach of today’s systems
Structuring the Quantum Ecosystem: Three Action Levers
To achieve this industrialization, Crédit Agricole CIB is structuring its quantum ecosystem around three pillars: business teams trained in quantum technologies (software and hardware), strategic coordinators ensuring monitoring, and project managers ensuring production deployment. This is supported by access to Pasqal‘s platforms (simulators and physical machines).
“Quantum computing has the potential to establish itself as one of the most structurally transformative technological breakthroughs of the next decade. This partnership marks our transition from an exploratory posture to an industrialization logic. By 2028, we aim to integrate quantum computing into some of our daily operational processes, offering our clients an unprecedented level of performance and precision in portfolio optimization. This ambition fully aligns with our technological innovation strategy and our determination to maintain our leadership in capital markets,” explains Pierre-Olivier Pagnon, Chief Information Officer of Crédit Agricole CIB.
“Quantum computing has reached a pivotal moment where its potential is translating into real operational value,” said Wasiq Bokhari, CEO of Pasqal. “Through our long-standing partnership with Crédit Agricole CIB, we are accelerating this shift—combining advanced neutral atom quantum technology with real-world financial use cases to build a clear path toward production-scale deployment. Together, we are laying the foundation for quantum solutions that we believe will redefine optimization and decision-making in capital markets.”
