Finnish quantum hardware company IQM has secured a €50 million financing facility from BlackRock-managed funds to support R&D, expand its market presence, and strengthen its balance sheet ahead of Europe’s first public quantum computing listing.
Last month, IQM announced plans to go public on a major U.S. exchange by merging with RAAQ (Real Asset Acquisition Corp.). The deal values IQM at $1.8 billion before money and includes a $134 million PIPE. The combined company is expected to have over $450 million in cash at closing.
The BlackRock facility was arranged before the announcement. It gives IQM a cleaner and more diversified capital structure for the IPO and helps lower its overall cost of capital.
Building quantum infrastructure that institutions can own and operate
IQM was founded in 2018 as a spinout from Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland by Dr Jan Goetz, Prof. Mikko Möttönen, Dr Kuan Yen Tan, and Dr Juha Vartiainen.
The company develops full-stack superconducting quantum computers, including qubit design, cryogenic hardware, control software, and cloud access. Its on-premises deployment model sets it apart by providing customers with hands-on access, data sovereignty, and customizable hardware configurations tailored to specific needs.
This differs from the main cloud-access model used by competitors such as IBM Quantum, Google Quantum AI, and AWS Braket, which do not give customers direct control over hardware. Other quantum hardware companies, such as IonQ, Rigetti Computing, Quantinuum, and D-Wave, also mainly operate as cloud-based businesses.
The model’s strength is evident in IQM’s home market. Finland ranks as the world’s second-largest quantum computing cluster and sits among the top five countries globally for quantum patent applications. Earlier this month, IQM deployed its fourth quantum computer in Finland, the Aalto Q20, a 20-qubit system now operational at Aalto University.
What’s next
The BlackRock financing strengthens IQM’s balance sheet and shows strong institutional confidence ahead of the listing.
IQM has sold 21 systems to 13 customers and reported at least €35 million in unaudited 2025 revenue, with bookings and order visibility exceeding €100 million by year-end, reflecting accelerating enterprise adoption.
