Saudi Arabia, Pasqal Join Forces to Fortify Quantum Cybersecurity

Saudi Arabia is adding another layer to its quantum ambitions, this time with a sharper focus on cybersecurity. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, or KACST, has signed a research collaboration agreement with French quantum computing company Pasqal to develop and validate quantum-safe cryptographic technologies, in a move that widens the Kingdom’s push to build home-grown strength in quantum research, computing infrastructure and digital security.

The agreement was announced at King Salman Science Oasis in Riyadh during World Quantum Day, and it will be led by KACST’s National Center for Quantum Technologies. The first job on the table is quantum cryptography, part of what is described as a broader multi-year research programme. In simple terms, the partners want to build and test encryption tools that can still hold up when quantum computers become powerful enough to crack some of today’s security methods. That may sound a bit futuristic, but for governments, banks and operators of critical infrastructure, waiting until the threat is fully here would be a mug’s game.

Pasqal brings its neutral-atom quantum computing technology and cloud services into the partnership, while KACST contributes national research infrastructure. Neutral-atom systems use individual atoms as qubits, the basic units in quantum computing. Well… I mean, it is not exactly light bedtime reading, but the important bit is that both sides plan to use this setup to research, test and package cryptographic technologies that could eventually be commercialised in Saudi Arabia.

Talal Al-Sedairy, KACST’s Senior Vice President for R&D, said the partnership is meant to strengthen national capabilities and help turn quantum research into future applications. Manahel Thabet, Director of the National Center for Quantum Technologies, said the collaboration would allow Saudi researchers to work jointly using international expertise and advanced infrastructure. That matters, because one of the biggest gaps in emerging tech ecosystems is often not access to the idea, but access to the people, tools and repeated testing needed to make the idea useful.

This latest agreement does not come out of nowhere. Pasqal has already been building its footprint in the Kingdom. Back in May 2026, the company and Aramco inaugurated what they described as Saudi Arabia’s first quantum computer at Aramco’s data centre in Dhahran. Alongside that, Pasqal launched what it called the Middle East’s first commercial Quantum Computing-as-a-Service platform, giving organisations access to quantum capabilities without the faff of running their own hardware.

The company has also announced plans with Eleven Ventures to create a joint venture focused on deploying, commercialising and scaling quantum computing systems across Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. On top of that, a Saudi ministerial delegation led by Communications and Information Technology Minister Abdullah Alswaha has visited Pasqal’s headquarters and production facility in France, showing that official interest in the sector is more than just a passing glance.

Put together, these moves suggest Saudi Arabia’s quantum strategy is starting to spread across several tracks at once: hardware, cloud access, commercial rollout, research and now post-quantum cybersecurity. And believe it or not, the cryptography angle may prove more immediately useful than some of the shinier industrial quantum use cases people like to talk about on conference stages. Cryptographic migration can take years, especially in government networks and critical systems that are built to stay in service for a long time.

I reckon that is the detail worth watching here. It is one thing to announce a research tie-up; it is another to produce tools that can be tested in real Saudi government, financial or infrastructure environments. If that happens, the Kingdom could start building domestic intellectual property and practical know-how in quantum security rather than relying fully on imported solutions. For readers at Arageek who follow how startup and deep-tech ecosystems grow, this is often where the real story begins — not at the headline moment, but when local talent starts turning strategy into products.

Pasqal chief executive Wasiq Bokhari is also taking part in LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, where the company is highlighting the shift of quantum computing from scientific research towards industrial applications. On the flip side, quantum computing is still an emerging field, and the commercial impact of many applications remains uncertain. I’m not a fan of overhyping frontier tech when the path to market is still foggy. Still, in this case, preparing for quantum-era cybersecurity looks spot on.

The next milestones will likely be quite concrete: whether new cryptographic solutions come out of the programme, whether they are tested with Saudi institutions, whether any of them turn into market-ready products, and whether the collaboration helps build a stronger local talent base. If those pieces fall into place, Saudi Arabia may be moving from simply acquiring quantum technology to building a definatly more sustainable domestic quantum ecosystem.

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