Newly public Pasqal has locked in a high-profile partnership to target a potentially lucrative new market for quantum computing.

The French start-up on Thursday announced a pact with USA Rare Earth and artificial-intelligence chemistry company Riven Systems. The project aims to discover better chemicals for separating rare earth minerals, which could make processing plants smaller, cheaper, and far more energy-efficient.

Pasqal may have faltered in its first few weeks of trading, but quantum stocks remain highly sensitive to headlines. Shares jumped 6.4% on Thursday while USA Rare Earth advanced 2.5%.

Riven plans to conduct thousands of automated experiments to generate training data for machine learning models. Researchers will then benchmark quantum AI against classical alternatives to determine if quantum computing offers a faster, more precise way to select optimal extraction chemicals.

Pasqal is no stranger to quantum machine learning, which applies quantum algorithms to classical data. Its researchers co-authored several papers exploring how neutral-atom quantum processors can execute various AI workloads.

Like AI, quantum promises massive cost savings by solving complex problems faster and more efficiently than classical machines. Most demonstrations of speed-ups over traditional computers have involved relatively simulations of particles or new materials. Quantum computing uses physical laws to map the natural world directly, making them better suited to these takes than even the most powerful supercomputers.

This capability holds immense promise for fields like pharmaceuticals, where drug discovery averages a decade, and materials science. For now, however, these transformative applications remain largely theoretical, as the technology has yet to arrive a true commercial inflection point. While system sales are rising and a number of global enterprises are building dedicated quantum teams, mainstream adoption remains years away.

Still, interest in the technology steadily has grown in just the past few months. Pasqal was part of a wave of public listings in 2026, as quantum developers seized on explosive market enthusiasm to raise capital and give themselves further legitimacy.

The company boasts over two dozen commercial clients, an encouraging sign of early traction in an industry that needs all the validation it can get. Ramping government support, from a $2 billion funding package to two executive orders, has been another boon to stocks that created a favorable setup for Pasqal's debut.

Further progress with partners like USA Rare Earth and Riven could serve as another catalyst. Long term, the partners envision folding quantum AI, automated lab testing, and real-world validation into a unified chemical-discovery pipeline.

Industry expectations remain high. McKinsey projects that quantum technology could unlock trillions in global economic value by 2035, including up to $600 billion for financial services and $400 billion for pharmaceuticals.

Pasqal's latest foray into rare earths highlights just how much untapped territory remains, pointing to high-value use cases that many investors haven't even priced in yet.