Given all the upheaval in markets from the war in Iran, it would be easy to think this is not the time to be listing on a stock exchange.
Stock markets are down, energy prices are up and investors appear to be focused on finding safe havens in a time of uncertainty.
Therefore its notable to see an Irish-founded and led company list on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the “current environment,” as business folks like to call it.
Horizon Quantum Computing, led by Dubliner Joe Fitzsimons, formally went public on Friday after completing its merger with special-purpose acquisition company (Spac) Dmy Squared.
Unlike a traditional initial public offering that involves a lengthy roadshow meeting investors, Horizon merged with the Spac that was already public as a cash shell. Spac deals were very popular a couple of years ago, but that market has shrunk since.
Although Horizon’s first day as a public company appears to have been mixed – the stock fell as much as 16 per cent at one point – it achieved the main objective of raising $120 million (€104) for the business.
That sort of cash will come in handy for Horizon, which provides software infrastructure for quantum computing businesses.
“Recent rapid progress in advancing quantum computing hardware and breakthroughs in error correction mean that the field is reaching an inflection point,” Fitzsimons said ahead of the listing.
“With today’s closing and our Nasdaq listing, Horizon Quantum is positioned to deliver the software infrastructure that will power this next phase of computing and help enable broad quantum advantage across tough computational problems,” he added.
Quantum computing has been something of a dream within the tech world for years, but the technology requirements as well as the cost, meant it remained a pipe dream for the most part.
Then again, artificial intelligence (AI) was something of a pipe dream until a couple of years ago too. What happens next with quantum computing is hard to say, but Fitzsimons and his Horizon business will be watched closely into the future.
