Executive Summary
As the new year begins, France enters 2026 with renewed momentum across quantum policy, industry and research, positioning itself as one of the central pillars of Europe’s deep-tech strategy. Recent developments offer just a glimpse at this coordinated push to move quantum technologies from laboratory demonstrations toward scalable, industrial deployment.
On the policy front, French and European stakeholders are actively shaping the proposed European Quantum Act. A high-level roundtable hosted by Alice & Bob and the European Quantum Industry Consortium underscored the need for clearer pathways from research to market, improved access to capital, and regulatory frameworks tailored to scale-ups. This policy ambition was echoed on the global stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where France arrived with one of its largest technology delegations to date, signaling Paris’ intent to lead Europe’s AI and quantum competitiveness amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Industry activity reinforced this direction. Europe launched a €50 million “Photonics for Quantum” pilot to accelerate reliable photonic chips, while French firms advanced commercialization through strategic deals, including SEALSQ’s potential majority investment in Quobly, new silicon-quantum partnerships, post-quantum security chips, and the first commercial sale of European quantum memory.
Research progress remained strong, too, with advances in error correction, photonic roadmaps for 2026, and continued intellectual leadership from figures such as Nobel laureate Alain Aspect. Below, please not a non-exhaustive list of just some of the scientific advances, business moves and policy achievements of the French quantum community.
Policy
EU Policymakers and French Industry Discuss the Quantum Act Facilitated by Alice & Bob And QuIC
Alice & Bob, a global leader in fault-tolerant quantum computing, and the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC), hosted a roundtable discussion this week among senior leaders from European quantum scale-ups, major corporations, investors and European Union policymakers to discuss how to support the growth and scaling of Europe’s quantum industry. The leaders focused on practical challenges facing quantum companies as they move from research to market, in the context of ongoing work on the European Quantum Act.
France Brings AI Firepower to Davos Amid Rising Transatlantic Tensions
As the streets of Davos filled with the world’s most powerful business and political leaders this week, France arrived with a message: Europe is ready to compete in the artificial intelligence race, and Paris intends to lead the charge.
President Emmanuel Macron touched down at the 56th World Economic Forum on Tuesday, January 20, bringing with him one of the largest French technology delegations ever assembled for the annual gathering. The 23 companies tagging along spanned sectors such as AI, quantum computing, space technology, and cleantech.
Business
50 Million Euro European Pilot ‘Photonics For Quantum’ Launched
Across a dozen European countries, a new European pilot will be started in 2026: Photonics for Quantum (P4Q). In this project, a large consortium is working on ways to make photonic chips for quantum applications more reliable and scalable.
The coordinator of P4Q, Pepijn Pinkse (University of Twente, NL): “Ideas that currently remain in the lab can grow into really useful devices more quickly.”
SEALSQ Signs MOU for Possible Majority Stake in Quobly
SEALSQ Corp, a global leader in semiconductors security and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) solutions, today announced that it has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding leading to exclusive negotiations with the shareholders of Quobly SAS, a leading French technology company pioneering the development of silicon-based quantum computers (“QUOBLY”), to make an initial minority investment and then potentially acquire a majority stake in QUOBLY. The proposed transaction remains subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, completion of financial, legal, technical and commercial due diligence, receipt of required corporate and regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Quobly and TNO Partner on Silicon Quantum Hardware Development
TNO and Quobly have entered into a new research collaboration to accelerate the industrialization of silicon spin qubit devices, an essential building block for scalable quantum computing. By combining Quobly’s CMOS‑compatible quantum chip platform with TNO’s deep expertise in materials science and cryogenic device characterization, the partnership focuses on improving the understanding of how materials influence qubit performance. This integrated device‑and‑materials approach enables faster design iterations and supports progress toward industrial‑scale quantum processor manufacturing.
Thales Powers CES*-Winning Post-Quantum Chip From Samsung Electronics
Quantum computers, with their unprecedented processing power, will ultimately challenge today’s encryption standards. This is why Thales welcomes the CES 2026 recognition awarded to the new post-quantum–ready security chip from Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business, which embeds Thales’ secure operating system and quantum-resistant cryptographic libraries. This breakthrough represents a major step forward in protecting connected devices against both current cyberattacks and tomorrow’s quantum-era threats.
Welinq sells QDrive Quantum Memory in Europe
Just two years after the start of its development, QDrive has progressed from advanced research to product-grade, commercial quantum memory. Designed, industrialized, and brought to market in a record time, QDrive’s first commercial sale marks a key step in the deployment of quantum networking technologies.
Quandela Identifies Four Quantum Computing Trends for 2026
Quandela, a leading player in photonic quantum computing technologies, reveals today the four key trends that will shape 2026: hybrid quantum-classical computing, concretization (first industrial use cases), error correction, and cybersecurity. After years confined to research laboratories, quantum computing will enter an adoption phase and emerge as a strategic lever for artificial intelligence, digital security, and economic performances.
Quobly Opens Canadian Subsidiary to Expand North American Quantum Operations
Quobly strengthens its presence in North America with the opening of a Canadian subsidiary, at the heart of Quebec’s quantum ecosystem Grenoble, France and Sherbrooke, Canada – January 30th, 2026 – Quobly, a French pioneer in silicon-based quantum computing, today announces the opening of its Canadian subsidiary in Sherbrooke (Quebec). This strategic expansion aims to reinforce the company’s research capabilities, technology integration, and industrial partnerships in North America, within a region recognized for its excellence in quantum technologies.
Research
Alice & Bob Develops ‘Elevator Codes’ to Slash Error Rates on Cat Qubit Quantum Computers
Alice & Bob, a global leader in fault-tolerant quantum computing, today announced a new way to reduce bit flip errors by “moving” logical ancilla qubits up and down during computation to gain significant performance improvement on the company’s future cat qubit quantum computers.
These new “Elevator Codes” would give Alice & Bob the option to make future quantum processors dramatically more accurate with the trade-off of needing a small number of supplementary qubits. More precisely, compared to Alice & Bob’s current error correction, the researchers expect to be able to reach a 10,000 times lower logical error rate while requiring only about 3 times more qubits using the new approach.
Alain Aspect, 78, learned “the real” quantum physics in Cameroon. Not at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, but during his civil service in Africa, reading a book by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji while teaching physics. That work — which “revolutionized the teaching of quantum physics,” he explains — changed his life. Decades later, Aspect experimentally demonstrated something that most physicists considered science fiction: quantum entanglement, the phenomenon Albert Einstein called “spooky action” and that few believed in.
Education and Events
Tech & Fest 2026 at Grenoble Alpexpo
On February 4th and 5th, 2026, Grenoble becomes the must-attend event for innovation and tech in France with the 3rd edition of tech&fest. This major event, taking place at the Alpexpo convention center, promises two days of inspiration, networking, demonstrations, and a festive atmosphere centered around technologies shaping our future.
A tech&innovation festival at the heart of tomorrow’s challenges tech&fest is more than just a professional trade show: it is a collective celebration of French innovation, bringing together researchers, industrialists, startups, decision-makers, students, and enthusiasts to explore the great transformations in our societies.
France – UAE forum for Research and Innovation
France and the United Arab Emirates share a common vision: placing research and innovation at the heart of their development and international influence.
Both nations are investing in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and space to build the solutions of tomorrow.
SEALSQ To Showcase its Secure Sovereign Quantum Technology at Tech&Fest Event in France
SEALSQ Corp announced that its French subsidiary SEALSQ France, will be showcasing its secure semiconductors and post-quantum cryptography at the Tech&Fest 2026 event alongside leading players in the European deeptech ecosystem. Building on a unique French industrial heritage and a strategy of targeted technological partnerships, SEALSQ France is emerging as a key French and European player developing solutions designed to anticipate tomorrow’s security threats.