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BTQ Technologies Receives Regulatory Approval for QPerfect Acquisition at €18.59M

Welcome to the latest edition of "Quantum Leap" where The Fly decodes news and activity in the quantum computing space.REGULATORY APPROVAL IN FRANCE:BTQ Technologiesannounced that it has received regulatory approval from the French Foreign Direct Investment, or FDI, authorities for its previously announced acquisition of the remaining ordinary shares of QPerfect SAS, a French quantum computing company based in Strasbourg, France, specializing in quantum software, emulation, digital twin capabilities, and control systems. The FDI clearance has been delivered subject to precise and detailed commitments imposed by the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance. In particular, these conditions require the maintenance of QPerfect's registered office in France, the appointment of a French corporate officer, the continuity of R&D activities, and the protection of intellectual property. The total purchase price for the acquisition is comprised of EUR 18.59M paid on closing, which consisted of EUR 2.02M paid in cash and EUR 16.57M paid by the issuance of 2.2M common shares in the capital of BTQ and an earnout payment of up to EUR 5.67M consisting of EUR 440,604 payable in cash and EUR 5,23M payable by the issuance of 693,450 common shares, with all common shares being issued at a price of approximately EUR 7.54 per share based upon the applicable trading price as at the time the Acquisition was agreed upon. The earnout consideration is dependent on the achievement of certain milestones. In connection with the acquisition, the company also issued 198,808 restricted share units to Philippe Blot, the CEO of QPerfect, who is continuing on in his role with QPerfect.AUTOMOTIVE CYBERSECURITY:Sealsqannounced its vision and roadmap aiming to secure the next generation of vehicles against both cyberattacks and quantum threats. This strategic expansion into automotive cybersecurity is expected to increase Sealsq's addressable market and deepen its role in software-defined, connected vehicles. The company aims to deliver automotive silicon with post-quantum cryptography designed in from the architecture up, made available at every level of the vehicle, from trusted platform modules, or TPMs, and secure microcontrollers, or sMCUs, to embedded hardware security module IP, chiplet-based hardware security modules and full custom quantum-resistant ASICs. The company said, "The global automotive semiconductor market is expected to grow significantly over the next decade as OEMs accelerate electrification, connectivity and autonomy, making cybersecurity-by-design a critical requirement in future platforms. As vehicles become AI-driven, software-defined, connected and autonomous, cybersecurity has become inseparable from functional safety: a compromised electronic control unit is no longer only a data problem, it is a safety problem. Modern vehicles must therefore be engineered to be both safe and secure by design, in line with ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434, and with the UNECE R155 type-approval regime now in force for new vehicles across Europe. Because a car built today may remain on the road for 15 to 20 years, the cryptography protecting it must stay trustworthy well into the quantum-computing era, long after "harvest-now, decrypt-later" attacks have begun to threaten data and firmware protected only by classical algorithms." "In the vehicle, safety and security can no longer be separated, and today's cyber risks cannot be separated from tomorrow's quantum threats," said Carlos Moreira, chairman and CEO of Sealsq. "With SEALSQ ASIC Design Services and our QASIC roadmap, we give the automotive industry a sovereign partner able to design post-quantum security into the silicon itself, at whatever level the customer needs, and to stand beside them all the way to certification. This approach helps ensure that the software-defined vehicle both safe and secure for its entire life on the road and expands SEALSQ's presence in one of the fastest-growing semiconductor end-markets."NSF GRANT:D-Wave Quantumannounced it has been selected to receive a $1.57M grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, or NSF, through the agency's National Quantum Virtual Laboratory, NQVL, program. The funding will support D-Wave's role as a key industry partner in ERASE - a project focused on developing technologies for fault-tolerant quantum computing and strengthening U.S. leadership in quantum innovation. "NSF's continued support for the ERASE project highlights the national importance of accelerating progress toward scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing," said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. "We believe that D-Wave's dual-rail technology can play a meaningful role in that effort, while building the technical foundation and skilled workforce needed to sustain U.S. leadership in quantum computing."QUANTISIMO EXPLORES GOING PUBLIC:Sealsq and its parent company, WISeKeyannounced that their jointly established special purpose vehicle, Quantisimo, has entered into a non-binding letter of intent, or LOI, with GigCapital8to explore the establishment of a Nasdaq-listed strategic quantum technology platform. The proposed transaction contemplates a business combination between Quantisimo and GigCapital8. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company is expected to have a pre-money enterprise value of approximately $575M, subject to customary closing conditions. The parties intend to increase this initial valuation to reach $2B through build-up consolidated acquisitions of up to an additional five quantum companies. The transaction is currently expected to close during the first quarter of 2027. Quantisimo was created by WISeKey and Sealsq to establish a quantum pure-play platform designed to provide investors with direct exposure to the rapidly emerging quantum economy. Quantisimo seeks to become a public company focused on the development, commercialization, and deployment of trusted quantum technologies. In connection with the proposed transaction, Sealsq is expected to contribute, subject to the successful completion of the business combination and final board approvals, selected assets and strategic interests from its SealQuantum.com portfolio of companies. The parties expect to commence immediately detailed due diligence and execute definitive agreements in the coming months. The proposed transaction remains subject to the execution of definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, shareholder approvals, financing arrangements, and other customary closing conditions.ANALYST COMMENTARY:Wedbush initiated coverage of Infleqtionwith an Outperform rating and $20 price target. Infleqtion is the only company commercializing the entire neutral-atom stack across computing, sensing, and software from one shared technology core, the analyst told investors in a research note. The firm sees Infleqtion as one of the most compelling ways to gain exposure to the category.

WISeKey Signs Merger Agreement with WISeKey BVI

WISeKey announced that it has signed a merger agreement with WISeKey International, a British Virgin Islands company and wholly owned subsidiary of WISeKey, to effect WISeKey's proposed redomiciliation from Switzerland to the British Virgin Islands. Under the proposed transaction, WISeKey would merge with and into WISeKey BVI, with WISeKey BVI surviving the merger as the publicly traded parent company of the WISeKey group and successor to WISeKey. Following completion of the redomiciliation, WISeKey BVI is expected to have its ordinary shares directly listed both on Nasdaq, and on SIX Swiss Exchange. As part of the merger, each outstanding class of WISeKey shares will be exchanged for the relevant class of WISeKey BVI shares in accordance with the exchange ratios set out in the merger agreement. WISeKey's current American depositary share program will be terminated, and holders of WISeKey ADSs will receive WISeKey BVI ordinary shares in exchange.