Lead Saudi Aramco and French quantum firm Pasqal have inaugurated the Kingdom’s first quantum computer and launched the Middle East’s first commercial Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) platform at Aramco’s Dhahran data centre, the companies announced on May 22, 2026. The system—built on Pasqal’s neutral‑atom hardware—entered full operational use after a late‑2025 deployment of a 200‑programmable‑qubit Quantum Processing Unit (QPU). The cloud‑accessible QCaaS offering is intended to give enterprises, researchers and industrial users low‑latency, secure access to one of the world’s operational quantum processors to accelerate applications across energy, materials, logistics and advanced manufacturing. Direct quote “This quantum milestone belongs to our Saudi researchers, engineers and scientists. By investing in joint training and research, we are building world‑class quantum expertise right here in the Kingdom—expertise that will power the next generation of energy solutions, accelerate lower‑carbon fuel development, and enhance reservoir and supply‑chain optimization. Let this achievement be the catalyst for an innovation‑driven economy, creating high‑impact, future‑ready jobs for our youth and advancing Saudi Vision 2030,” said Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation. Context and details Pasqal’s CEO Wasiq Bokhari framed the initiative as an active effort to shape the global quantum landscape and to make quantum resources available for industrial use. “Aramco is not just waiting for quantum computing, it is helping to shape it as a global leader. This inauguration shows that the most demanding industrial challenges are now being tackled with Pasqal’s quantum processors, software, and solutions. Deploying our system for Aramco’s business‑critical operations—while also making it available to the region’s enterprises and research community—is central to our mission of enabling practical and secure quantum computing at sc…