(Reuters) - Chip-based protein sequencing firm Quantum-Si Incorporated has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm HighCape Capital Acquisition Corp in a deal that values the combined company at $1.46 billion. The deal will be financed through a private investment of $425 million from institutional investors such as Foresite Capital Management LLC, Eldridge, and Glenview Capital Management LLC, the companies said on Thursday. Guilford, Connecticut-based Quantum-Si operates a platform that uses semiconductor chips to decode proteins. It offers tools for sample preparation, sequencing and data analysis. HighCape, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), raised $115 million in its initial public offering in September. SPACs are shell companies that raise funds through an IPO to acquire a private company, which becomes public as a result. The combined company will be listed on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “QSI.” J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co are acting as placement agents for the private investment, while J.P. Morgan Securities is acting as the sole financial advisor to HighCape.