French tech company announces new headquarters at Chicago quantum
research park
[October 10, 2025]
By Maggie Dougherty
CHICAGO — The French quantum computing firm Pasqal announced Thursday it
will establish its first U.S. headquarters at Chicago’s emerging quantum
research park.
Pasqal plans to invest $65 million into the new facility, which will
house one of its quantum computers, and create at least 50 new full-time
jobs. The company said the new computer will be the most powerful in the
world by the time it is completed.
The firm, co-founded in 2019 by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Alain
Aspect, is the latest tenant to join the Illinois Quantum and
Microelectronics Park, based on Chicago’s Southeast Side. That facility
is expected to open in 2027.
The park is located at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on the
city’s far southeast side. The location has been vacant for over 30
years since its closure in 1992. The quantum computing facility has
received hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding and tax breaks
as Gov. JB Pritzker continues his campaign to make Illinois “the leading
hub for quantum development in the United States.”
“Over the past few years, we have aggressively pursued a vision to
become the undisputed global quantum capital,” Pritzker said Thursday at
a news conference. “Quantum presents an opportunity to change the world
while creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of dollars in
economic growth here in Illinois.”
Quantum computing utilizes quantum mechanics to execute calculations
that are beyond the capabilities of traditional computers. Pasqal says
the computing power is expected to benefit many industries including
logistics, finance, telecommunications and energy, among others.
Pasqal Executive Chairman Wasiq Bokhari said opening the new site in
Illinois is “a very easy decision,” adding that the move was supported
by the state’s Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity, or
MICRO, tax credit.
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Gov. JB Pritzker announces the latest tenant for Chicago’s quantum
research park on Thursday, Oct. 9. (Capitol News Illinois photo by
Maggie Dougherty)
“The Chicago area and the state of Illinois is an epicenter of
scientific discovery and innovation,” Bokhari said. “In my mind, there
are very few places in the whole world coming close to the kind of
capability that is available here.”
The Illinois Finance Authority also helped secure $15 million in cash
loans for Pasqal.
Pritzker said Pasqal intends to scale its systems from 200 qubits to
10,000 qubits, which he described as “a dramatic expansion of computing
power.”
Pasqal joins other tenants that have signed on since the project was
announced last summer, including IBM, Diraq, Infleqtion, Argonne
National Laboratory and Fermilab. The firm operates subsidiaries in
eight countries and employs over 300 people, according to a news
release.
Pritzker touted Pasqal’s years of experience in the field, established
infrastructure, partnership with IBM and reputation from working with
customers including BMW, Siemens and LG.
Harley Johnson, executive director and chief executive officer of the
Chicago research park, said he expected the partnership with Pasqal to
be fruitful for both parties.
“I sincerely believe there’s no better place to foster these
breakthroughs than here in Illinois, and especially on the south side of
Chicago, a region whose history is rooted in hard work, ingenuity and
global impact,” Johnson said.
Maggie Dougherty is a freelance reporter covering the
Chicago area.
Capitol News Illinois is
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