Mackenzie Tatananni

There is no shortage of contenders in the quantum-computing sector. As enthusiasm continues to mount behind the emergent technology, a new company prepares to go public.

Horizon Quantum Computing said on Wednesday that it had signed a nonbinding letter of intent with special-purpose acquisition company dMY Squared Technology Group to combine, and become a publicly listed company.

The deal values Horizon at roughly $500 million, and the companies expect to reach a definite agreement in the second quarter and complete the deal before the end of the year.

DMY is the same SPAC that took IonQ public in 2021.

While the words "quantum computing company" may conjure up names such as D-Wave Quantum and IonQ, Horizon says it takes a slightly different approach from those two by focusing on the software infrastructure.

"You can think of us as following Microsoft's path with personal computers," Horizon founder and CEO Joe Fitzsimons told Barron's in an email.

The company was founded in 2018 by Fitzsimons, formerly an associate professor and principal investigator at the Centre for Quantum Technologies in Singapore.

He is the co-inventor of a protocol known as blind quantum computing, which allows remote users of quantum systems to keep their data secure by hiding the computation they are performing from the computer itself, as well as its operator. The protocol increases the security level.

While blind quantum computing is not yet practical, it has been demonstrated in several systems, Fitzsimons wrote. Similarly, Horizon's programming languages are still in the works, but recent developments have "opened up new possibilities."

"We are starting to see the foundations of the first true quantum-computer operating system emerge with the integration of dynamic memory management and other system services within our tools," Fitzsimons explained.

Since it doesn't build its own processors, Horizon has partnered with a number of hardware companies including Rigetti Computing. The collaborators entered their first agreement in 2018.

Work is currently underway on a hardware testbed at the company's Singapore headquarters, where Horizon plans to begin operating quantum computers. The first system will be based on a Rigetti Novera quantum processor, and control systems from Quantum Machines, a Tel Aviv-based start-up, Fitzsimons wrote.

Horizon is clearly setting itself apart from other players in the quantum space -- and that's part of what made the opportunity to merge so attractive to dMY Chairman Harry You.

Quantum computing, in his view, is an "incredibly promising new technology investment field" from all angles, including software, dMY's You said in an email.

"While the near-term market opportunity is in the tens of billions of dollars, it will rapidly grow as the precise applications and use cases for quantum develop," dMY's You added, citing areas such as drug discovery and portfolio optimization.

Horizon, in particular, has an opportunity to work across multiple quantum hardware platforms, dMY's chairman said, similar to how VMWare became the "de facto operating system of the data center."

IonQ, the SPAC's first foray into quantum computing, is set to report fourth-quarter results after markets close Wednesday. IonQ has posted a loss in every quarter since going public in 2021 -- but it isn't alone.

Quantum-computing companies, especially the younger and smaller pure-plays, generate little revenue and lose money, making it difficult to predict future profits. IonQ, for one, has vowed to become profitable by 2030.

There has been a flurry of disagreement over the pace of quantum development. Some, such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, insist it could take decades for "useful" quantum computers to arrive, while companies such as D-Wave cite a register of customers stretching back years.

As dMY's You said, the technology is expected to stoke developments across multiple different sectors once it is fully realized. Investors just have to prepare for a long, uncertain road ahead.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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February 26, 2025 13:47 ET (18:47 GMT)

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