Pasqal Plans Saudi Quantum Systems Through New Joint Venture
On August 24, French neutral-atom company Pasqal and Saudi firm Eleven Ventures announced an agreement to establish a commercial joint venture, Pasqal Arabia. This venture will sell and operate Pasqal’s quantum computers within Saudi Arabia, with plans to deploy multiple systems “in the coming years.” Currently, only an agreement, a chairman, and a target exist; no hardware has been installed in Saudi Arabia.
What the agreement covers
The two parties intend to deploy and operate Pasqal’s neutral-atom systems in the Kingdom, sell access to regional customers, and train local staff. HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Bin Talal, founder of Eleven Ventures, will chair Pasqal Arabia’s board. This outlines the structure; the rest consists of stated intentions.
The companies didn’t disclose the deal’s value, the ownership split, the number of systems the venture will install, a delivery timeline, or the qubit counts and error rates these systems will achieve. According to Pasqal’s own profile, its current machines use optical tweezers to control neutral atoms and can reach up to a few hundred qubits. Whether the Saudi deployments will match, exceed, or trail these specifications remains unstated.
The announcement coincided with Saudi Arabia’s state visit to France on August 24, during which Saudi officials toured Pasqal’s headquarters and production site. The venture is positioned as a contribution to Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s economic diversification program that includes AI and advanced computing. Quantum is one component of this program, and the press release doesn’t specify dedicated public funding for the venture.
Claims to consider carefully
Every strong statement here originates from an interested party. Both Pasqal CEO Dr. Wasiq Bokhari and the Prince stand to benefit from the venture’s success, making their framing promotional. The Prince’s quote exemplifies this:
“We believe that quantum today is where AI stood a few years ago, on the edge of changing everything. The difference is that this time, the Kingdom and the region are not watching from a distance, we are moving first, and in Pasqal we found a partner that will not wait either. Together we plan to deploy real systems, raise a generation of quantum talent, and make the Kingdom the home of this technology for the entire region.”
Pasqal has previously formed market-access deals, and neutral-atom scaling remains an ongoing research challenge across the field. Monitor this venture by the actual activation of systems and their operational capabilities, rather than by the signing of the agreement.