Irish-founded quantum computing company Horizon Quantum has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to merge with SPAC dMY Squared Technology Group, Inc in a deal that values Horizon at $500m.

Singapore-based Quantum develops advanced software development tools for quantum computers while dMY Squared is a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company led by Harry You.

Dr. Joe Fitzsimons, the Irish physicist who founded Horizon Quantum and acts as CEO, and the current Horizon management team will lead the combined company, which is expected to be publicly listed.

The leadership team also includes chief science officer Dr. Si-Hui Tan, who holds a PhD in Physics from MIT and has been actively involved in quantum research for the same period.

Dr. Fitzsimons co-invented universal blind quantum computing, a key technology for securing cloud-based quantum systems, and founded Horizon Quantum after a tenured professorship in Singapore.

He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, and his work is widely cited in scientific literature.

The combined company is also expected to benefit from the investing and operational experience of the dMY team.

“We are excited to partner with the dMY team because of their experience in enterprise hardware and software as well as their success as pioneers in the quantum computing industry,” said Dr. Fitzsimons.

“While quantum hardware continues to advance, the true revolution lies in enabling users to harness these powerful systems for solving real-world challenges.

"The 'applications bottleneck' represents a critical barrier between quantum computing's theoretical promise and practical impact — one that our team is committed to breaking through.”

You, chairman of dMY Squared, said: "Quantum computing application development addresses the critical gap between advancing hardware capabilities and real-world implementation.

"We could not be more pleased and excited to work with Joe and his team at Horizon Quantum, who are working to create a common software platform across different quantum computing hardware approaches.

"From our past experience, we have seen the power of an operating system and management layer to power compute and applications."

Under the terms of the letter of intent, the pre-money equity value of Horizon in the transaction is approximately $500m.

The parties will announce additional details regarding the proposed business combination when a definitive agreement is executed, likely in the second quarter, and the deal is anticipated before the end of the year.

The companies said in a statement that no assurances can be made that they will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement, or that the proposed transaction will be consummated on the terms or timeframe currently contemplated, or at all.

Any transaction would be subject to the completion of due diligence, the negotiation of a definitive agreement providing for the proposed business combination, the satisfaction of the conditions negotiated therein, board and equity holder approval, regulatory approvals, and other customary conditions.

Horizon closed a seed funding round led by SGInnovate in 2018, and raised $18.1m in a Series A funding round with investment from SGInnovate as well as Sequoia Capital India, Tencent, Pappas Capital and Expeditions Fund in 2023.

At the time of the Series A funding round, Horizon said insufficient hardware and software were the main two challenges preventing widespread adoption of quantum computing, ie computers using quantum mechanics to solve complex problems.

"Horizon Quantum Computing is focused on the second challenge, enabling domain experts to leverage quantum computing in their most demanding computational workloads," it added.

"Horizon is building a system for quantum software development that enables developers to bridge the gap between classical code and quantum accelerated applications."

The company subsequently established a first-of-its-kind testbed for integrating quantum computing hardware with its software stack, Triple Alpha, with the capacity to host multiple quantum computers at its Singapore headquarters last year.

Photo: Dr. Joe Fitzsimons. (Pic: Supplied)