Quantinuum stock surged 13.3% as the Honeywell spin-off was valued at US$17.63 billion (A$24.7 billion) in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday in one of the most closely watched listings in the emerging quantum technology sector.
Shares in the United States-based company (NASDAQ: QNAT) opened at $68 and traded between $59.89 and $71.35 before closing at $60.38.
"We believe we are ready for public markets," Quantinuum Chief Executive Officer Raj Hazra was quoted telling Reuters in this article.
Qantinuum said in an announcement on Wednesday it had priced the “upsized” initial public offering (IPO) of 28 million shares of its Class A common stock to the public at $60 in the IPO, which raised $1.68 billion.
It also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 4.2 million shares of this stock to cover over-allotments at the IPO, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Analysts believe the investment case for quantum computing is largely driven by its long-term potential amid caution about the timeline for meaningful revenue generation, Reuters reported.
“The support is meaningful because quantum computing is increasingly viewed as a strategic technology with implications for national security, AI (artificial intelligence), communications and advanced computing,” said IPOX Schuster analyst Kat Liu.
Government interest has also helped boost sentiment, with the United States announcing a $2 billion initiative last month to support quantum technologies, including a planned $100 million investment in Quantinuum.
The sector has attracted additional attention as AI workloads grow more complex and energy-intensive, raising expectations that quantum systems could eventually complement or accelerate AI-driven computing.
Quantinuum was created in 2021 when Honeywell merged its quantum computing division, Honeywell Quantum Solutions, with UK-based software and quantum algorithms company Cambridge Quantum into a standalone company combining hardware, software, and applied quantum research.
The Broomfield, Colorado-based company has facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar and Singapore.
