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  • 🔵 The Quantum Insider Weekly | A Big To-Do Over Xanadu. Helios Shines. And More News in Quantum.

🔵 The Quantum Insider Weekly | A Big To-Do Over Xanadu. Helios Shines. And More News in Quantum.

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FROM THE EDITOR.

You know what they say are the three most important things in quantum?

Performance, performance, performance.

That was evident this week.

Quantinuum, for example, introduced Helios — a system built for technological performance — positioning it as a general-purpose quantum computer designed to accelerate enterprise adoption and bridge the quantum–classical divide. The announcement came alongside reports of new investment from Fidelity, reinforcing confidence in Quantinuum’s long-term roadmap.

Investor performance was also on display as Xanadu entered the public market conversation, announcing plans to go public through a SPAC merger that could value the photonic quantum firm at about $3.6 billion. The deal marks one of the largest valuations yet for a quantum startup and underscores growing market appetite for scalable quantum platforms.

And in financial performance, IonQ and D-Wave kicked off quantum’s mini-earnings week with results showing momentum — and competition — across a still-evolving industry. Whether measured in qubits, cash flow, or confidence, this week’s story was all about performance.

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

This week is highlighted by national quantum advancements. Starting with Singapore, its National Quantum Office and Quantinuum have partnered to advance the country’s quantum ecosystem. Quantinuum’s first Helios quantum computer outside the US (!) will be delivered to Singapore in 2026, along with the company opening a new R&D and Operations Centre in the country.

Meanwhile DARPA has advanced 11 companies to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, a transition from conceptual proposals to rigorous validation of utility-scale quantum architectures. This stage will involve evaluating each company’s technical roadmaps, risk mitigation, and prototype plans to assess scalability and realism. All in pursuit of determining whether a quantum computer whose computational value exceeds its cost can be achieved by 2033.

Canada’s 2025 federal budget commits C$334.3M over five years to strengthen the nation’s quantum technology ecosystem as part of its new Defence Industrial Strategy. Managed by ISED, NRC, and NSERC, the funding targets both foundational research and industry-driven innovation. Part of a broader C$6.6B initiative for defense modernization, Canada is pushing to integrate quantum, AI, and cybersecurity into its national innovation and security framework. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

Check out this week’s handpicked quantum research. These are studies headed for real-world impact: improving accuracy, reducing latency, using fewer resources, or solving problems that classical methods struggle with. These are early developments, but they hint at where quantum might earn its keep.

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INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: Xanadu Announces SPAC Deal to Go Public, Sets Pre-Money Value at $3 Billion US

➡️ Xanadu Quantum Technologies announced a definitive merger with Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: CHAC) to become the first publicly traded pure-play photonic quantum computing company.
➡️ The deal, valued at a pre-money equity value of about US$3 billion, is expected to raise approximately US$500 million through Crane Harbor’s trust and a PIPE investment.
➡️ The combined company will trade on both Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange, giving investors dual-market access to a leading quantum hardware firm.
➡️ Xanadu plans to use proceeds to accelerate its roadmap toward a fully fault-tolerant photonic quantum computer by 2029, building on its 216-qubit Borealis system and new Aurora platform.
➡️ With its open-source PennyLane software and a customer base that includes Volkswagen, Mitsubishi Chemical, and Rolls-Royce, Xanadu is positioning itself as a full-stack quantum company integrating hardware and software.

Analyst Commentary

One of the big stories this week was Xanadu’s announcement that it’s going public.

It’s easy to get lost in the Big Bees (billions) and the heightened interest about quantum on Wall Street, but Xanadu’s decision to go public through a special-purpose acquisition company may be both a financial maneuver and a technological statement. In one move, the Toronto-based startup positions itself as the public market’s first test of investor appetite for photonic quantum computing — a platform that uses light rather than superconducting circuits or trapped ions.

A SPAC (often how special-purpose acquisition company are abbreviated) allows a private firm to merge with a publicly listed shell, bypassing the traditional IPO process. For Xanadu, that means faster access to capital and broader visibility without the long regulatory runway of a conventional listing. The US $500 million in expected proceeds — split between Crane Harbor’s trust and what’s called a Private Investment in Public Equity “or PIPE” that brings in money from institutional investors — gives Xanadu the funding to scale manufacturing and sustain R&D toward a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer by the decade’s end.

The benefits are clear: investors gain early exposure to a company with a demonstrated record of technical milestones, including 2022’s Borealis system — billed as the first photonic quantum computer to achieve and publicly demonstrate quantum supremacy on the cloud. Xanadu also brings the strength of its PennyLane software ecosystem, which has become a global training ground for quantum developers and is integrated across multiple hardware platforms. Together, these assets make the company more than a hardware story; it is building a full-stack quantum platform.

But the cautionary notes are equally important. SPACs offer speed at the cost of scrutiny, and public markets have been harsh on quantum listings before. Valuations that reflect long-term potential rather than near-term revenue can face volatility as investors adjust expectations to the slow, incremental pace of quantum progress. The company’s target — a fault-tolerant machine by 2029 — is ambitious, and translating photonic scalability into commercial performance will require sustained engineering execution and market patience. Nothing is guaranteed in quantum (which is quite auspicious when we think about how uncertainty underlies the technology)

That all being said, we consider this news to be overall good for Xanadu and even, broadly, the quantum industry. Xanadu’s move illustrates a maturing sector. With IonQ and D-Wave already public and others watching from the wings and others moving toward the stage, this transaction extends quantum computing’s evolution from research venture to investable industry. Xanadu’s SPAC marks this week’s measure of financial performance — proof that quantum’s next breakthroughs may depend as much on capital markets as on coherence times.

DATA SPOTLIGHT.

PacketLight Networks and NEC demonstrated quantum key distribution over a 400G dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network using a dual-fiber setup. They integrated NEC’s QKD system with PacketLight’s PL-4000M 600G Muxponder, achieving 100% data throughput and low latency, verified via a 100GbE tester. The QKD ran over a dedicated parallel fiber, maintaining quantum signal integrity. The result: a cost-effective, scalable quantum-safe model with zero performance tradeoffs on existing high-capacity infrastructure.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🏔️ The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, University of Bristol, and Elevate Quantum have signed a landmark transatlantic technology agreement to strengthen quantum collaboration between the UK and the U.S. Mountain West region. The new “Quantum Growth Bridge” will align research and industry to drive investment, job creation, and scale-up of quantum businesses.

💰️ Fidelity International has made its first investment in Quantinuum, joining an oversubscribed $800 million funding round that values the Honeywell-controlled quantum computing firm at $10 billion.

💎 Quantum Brilliance has opened the world’s first commercial Quantum Diamond Foundry in Melbourne to mass-produce quantum-grade diamond for next-generation computing and sensing technologies.

✨ Quantinuum has unveiled Helios, described as the world’s most accurate general-purpose commercial quantum computer, designed to accelerate enterprise adoption and hybrid quantum–classical computing. Integrated with NVIDIA’s GB200 processors via NVQLink, Helios supports real-time error correction and the new Guppy programming language, with early collaborators including Amgen, BMW, JPMorgan Chase, and SoftBank.

🇸🇬 Singapore’s National Quantum Office and Quantinuum have formed a strategic partnership under Singapore’s National Quantum Strategy, making the country the first outside the U.S. to host Quantinuum’s Helios quantum computer by 2026.

💵 IonQ reported Q3 2025 revenue of $39.9 million, up 222% year over year, while posting a $1.1 billion net loss largely tied to non-cash adjustments. The company raised its full-year revenue outlook to up to $110 million, citing strong demand, major technical milestones including record 99.99% two-qubit fidelity and #AQ 64 performance, and expanded global operations.

🌐 IonQ and Swiss partners have launched the Geneva Quantum Network, Switzerland’s first citywide quantum network linking major research, enterprise, and government institutions.

🇨🇦 Canada’s 2025 federal budget commits C$334.3 million over five years to strengthen the nation’s quantum technology ecosystem as part of its new Defence Industrial Strategy.

🤝 Pasqal and LG Electronics have announced a strategic partnership to co-develop quantum algorithms and core technologies for neutral atom quantum computing. The collaboration will target industrial applications such as multiphysics simulation, optimization, and materials discovery.

💵 D-Wave Quantum reported Q3 2025 revenue of $3.7 million, double last year’s figure, driven by higher margins, new enterprise deals, and a €10 million system contract in Italy. Despite a GAAP net loss of $140 million due to non-cash warrant charges, the company highlighted growing commercial traction, expanding partnerships, and progress toward scalable quantum systems.

🤝 SkyWater Technology and QuamCore have announced a multi-million-dollar partnership to co-develop Single Flux Quantum devices for scalable superconducting quantum processors. The collaboration will leverage SkyWater’s U.S. foundry capabilities and QuamCore’s SFQ control architecture to cut cabling and power use in large-scale quantum systems.

🖥️ DARPA has advanced 11 companies to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, moving from conceptual proposals to technical validation of scalable quantum architectures. This phase will assess each firm’s R&D plans, risk strategies, and prototype roadmaps.

🗺️ The White House announced new Technology Prosperity Deals with Japan and South Korea to deepen cooperation in quantum computing, AI, and other advanced technologies. The agreements aim to secure research ecosystems, align technology standards, and strengthen supply chains across the Indo-Pacific.

✈️ PsiQuantum and Lockheed Martin have signed an MoU to expand their collaboration on quantum computing for aerospace and defense, focusing on real-world applications using PsiQuantum’s Construct software.

🇺🇸 The U.S. Department of Energy has renewed $625 million in funding for its five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, supporting five more years of R&D in quantum computing, networking, and sensing.

EVENTS.

Nov. 10-12 -- European Quantum Technologies Conference 2025 will be held at Øksnehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Nov. 12-14 -- Quantum Machines, the leading provider of advanced hybrid quantum-classical control solutions, will host AQC25, the second Adaptive Quantum Circuits Conference.

Nov. 16-21 -- SuperComputing 2025 (SC25) will be held n St. Louis, USA. SC25 is an international conference for high performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.

Nov. 15- 18 -- BIG Quantum Hackathon, Qatar 2025, Minaretein, Education City,. Doha, Qatar.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France.

Dec. 3-5 -- Quantum Education Summit 2025 will advance accessible, inclusive quantum education through keynotes, workshops, and a collaborative white paper on workforce development and policy alignment.

Dec. 9-11 -- Q2B 2025 Silicon Valley Q2B is back for the eighth year in a row, connecting the international quantum community computing ecosystems. The event will feature top academics, industry end users, government representatives and quantum computing vendors from all over the world.

Dec. 17-18 -- Science Diplomacy - Bridging divides in a fragmented world will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference explores how science diplomacy can bridge divides and promote innovation, competitiveness, and international cooperation.

January 27 and 28, 2026 -- Qubits 2026 D-Wave is bringing its annual user conference, Qubits, to Boca Raton, Florida. The event will be held at The Boca Raton resort.

April 27-30 -- The Quantum Matter International Conference & Expo (QUANTUMatter2026) will take place at the Barceló Sants Hotel in Barcelona. The conference to foster the incubation of new ideas & collaborations at the forefront of quantum technologies, emerging quantum materials and novel generations of quantum communication protocols, quantum sensing and quantum simulation.

June 22-24 -- IQT Nordics: Oslo, Norway

June 24-26 -- Quantum. Tech World: Boston, Mass