IPO Watch: Quantum computing investor Quantum Exponential announces go public plans
Quantum Exponential, a company that identify investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector, is planning an IPO with hopes to raise up to £5m ($6.9m). The move would make it the first company of its kind listed in London.
£2.3m of the £5m has already been committed to by existing investors and the company also recently completed a pre-IPO fund raising of £2.5m.
The firm will go public on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market.
"With revenues from quantum computing, which is just one part of quantum technology, forecast to grow from $472m in 2021 to $1.8bn by 2026, and government spending increasing, I believe now is the right time to gain investment exposure to this growth,” said CEO Martin Schwedler, CEO.
He said admission to the exchange will enable the company to access capital which can accelerate investment decisions.
The company said quantum tech can “revolutionise” industries including AI, manufacturing and healthcare.
It believes public market investors currently have had no means to gain pure exposure to this technology and that it can bring them “unparalleled market access, professional portfolio selection and professional due diligence" along with technical expertise.
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"The IPO is definitely an exciting event from both investors' perspective, and also helps to establish London as the hub for tech firms," Kaia Parv, head of investment research at Fxprimus told Yahoo Finance UK.
"Quantum's offering gives investors a unique value proposition, as it allows participation in a relatively high risk but also high reward technology start up sector that has historically been unavailable for retail investors."
Parv added that the recent listing of Wise "substantiates that Brexit has not diminished London's status as a financial centre."
Quantum Exponential's strategy is to assemble a portfolio of minority investments in leading quantum tech firms.
It has screened some 175 quantum companies and over 60 start-ups which potentially meet its investment strategy;
It intends to create an initial portfolio of between eight to ten investments, with each investment being valued anywhere between £100,000 to £500,000.
More than 80% of large companies in the UK are scaling up their quantum computing capabilities, recent research by Accenture has revealed.
"While the technology is still being tested to create new products and services, we expect quantum computing to bring huge advances in computing power and solve business problems that are too complex for classical computing systems," said Maynard Williams, managing director for Accenture Technology in the UK & Ireland.
He added that COVID-19 has forced businesses to adopt new technology faster.
