Quantum computing… PsiQuantum raised $450.0M in Series D funding led by BlackRock and joined by Baillie Gifford, M12, Blackbird Ventures, and Temasek. With the goal of providing a fault tolerant quantum computer of at least 1 million qubits, the startup is building an entire quantum computing stack, from the photonic and electronic chips, through packaging and control electronics, cryogenic systems, quantum architecture and fault tolerance, to quantum applications. Alongside GlobalFoundries, PsiQuantum has begun manufacturing of the silicon photonic and electronic chips that will form the basis of its Q1 system. Founded in 2016 and based in Palo Alto, Calif., it has raised $665M to date.
Atom Computing drew $15.0M in Series A investment from Innovation Endeavors, Prelude Ventures, and Venrock. The startup’s focus is nuclear-spin qubits based on an alkaline earth element. Atom Computing also debuted its first system, which traps 100 atoms in a vacuum chamber with optical tweezers and rearranges and manipulates their quantum states with lasers. Based in Berkeley, Calif., and founded in 2018, it has raised $20M to date.
Q-CTRL received a $3.5M grant from the Australian government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative. Q-CTRL has developed quantum-based gravity and magnetic field sensors that can detect and measure extremely small signals. The funding will be applied to the development of quantum hardware for measuring Earth’s magnetic field from small-form satellites. The startup also provides quantum control software. Based in Sydney, Australia, it was founded in 2017.
QuantWare drew €1.2M (~$1.4M) in a pre-seed round from FORWARD.one Venture Capital, Quantum Delta, Rabobank, and UNIIQ. It also announced its first commercially-available superconducting processor for quantum computers. The 5-qubit QPU is targeted at research institutions and universities, and the company said it has 99.9% single-qubit gate fidelities for manageable error rates. The startup is also developing a low-noise traveling wave parametric amplifier and plans to use the funding for hiring and pushing to processors with more qubits. Founded in 2020, it is based in Delft, the Netherlands.
