Delft-based Q*Bird, a provider of secure quantum communications, announced on Tuesday that it has secured €2.5M in a fresh funding round jointly led by QDNL Participations and Cottonwood Technology Fund, with participation from InnovationQuarter.
The Dutch company will use the funding to scale its commercial partnerships, including those with Port of Rotterdam and Eurofiber.
“With the new capital, we aim to reduce its (production) costs further, reduce the size, and improve the integration into classical networks even further. We will also scale our operations and grow the team further,” says co-founder and CEO Ingrid Romijn to Silicon Canals.
Q*Bird: Providing ultra-secure communications and protection
Founded in 2022 by Joshua Slater, Ingrid Romijin, and Remon Berrevoets as a spin-off of Delft University of Technology, Q*Bird is on a mission to protect data communications and digital infrastructure. It uses patented technology that outperforms the competition in security and cost.
Talking about the inspiration behind founding Q*Bird to Silicon Canals, Romijin says, “Already at QuTech (TU Delft), the founders were working together on projects with industrial partners to take our quantum network technology out of the lab and into the field / industrial environment. We performed several proofs of concepts (POCs) in 2021, and these all went well. At that point, we realised the technology was ready to spin out of the university and start commercialising it. And in 2022, Q*Bird was born!”
Falqon: What is it, and how does it work?
Q*Bird has developed a unique quantum cryptography (QKD) product called Falqon.
According to Romijin, Falqon operates on a unique protocol with proprietary technology.
Unlike the traditional prepare-measure Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) approach, it utilises a central detector (Center Hub) to measure quantum bits (single photons) sent from a pair of User End Nodes.
This process creates a quantum entanglement link between the two users, enabling them to generate their private quantum keys.
Notably, the Center Hub doesn’t have access to the key information, making Falqon more secure.
Additionally, the Center Hub can connect to multiple users who can exchange keys, making Falqon scalable to more users.
In the future, the quantum measurement in the Center Hub will enable the connection to quantum devices such as quantum processors and quantum computers, making Q*Bird technology forward-compatible with a quantum internet.
The technology can protect data communications and digital infrastructure based on the fundamental laws of nature and is provably secure, even against a future quantum computer.
Secured against most dangerous hacking attacks
Romijin explains Falqon’s security: “We have proprietary built-in security features that protect against the most dangerous types of hacking attacks.”
“In principle, quantum cryptography is secure against any eavesdropping or other tapping attacks, even with a quantum computer. This is because the quantum information/qubits will change as soon as somebody looks at it (measures it). The users will thus know as soon as somebody tries to intercept the key information. Moreover, the fact that our detector system never knows the key information makes it also unsusceptible to side-channel attacks,” she adds.
Compared to other quantum security companies, the company claims to offer superior upgradability and scalability, with a lower cost per additional user once the technology is in place.
Partnerships
Q*Bird is currently conducting a large-scale trial of its technology at the Port of Rotterdam, which is a crucial part of the European trade economy.
The company has already secured a launch customer for Falqon, and its product line is scheduled to be officially launched later this year.
Additionally, it has signed three other contracts to deploy quantum networks across Europe and has partnered with Eurofiber to enhance the security of its networks and its customers.
“My vision for Q*Bird is to become the largest supplier of quantum networking equipment in Europe, the US, and beyond,” says Romijn.
“Today, we build devices for quantum-secured data communications. In the future, we will enable general-purpose quantum connectivity, by providing new products and seamlessly integrating those with our already existing quantum cryptography network,” she adds.
Adoption of general awareness remains the biggest challenge
Explaining the challenges, Ingrid conveys, “To get quantum cryptography products adopted, quantum technology needs to integrate with classical network technology seamlessly. We are working together with network operators and equipment vendors to implement our quantum tech in already existing infrastructures.”
Additionally, the company is collaborating with partners on European-wide projects to certify and standardise this novel technology.
“Another real challenge to adoption is general awareness – entities need to become aware that quantum (security) technology exists and that it can already be used to secure their operations & networks fundamentally. We aim to leverage our existing projects, such as with the Port of Rotterdam, to showcase our technology and its uses and raise further awareness,” she concludes.
The investors
Cottonwood Technology Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. The firm has a focus on deep-tech startups in the areas of cleantech, medtech, robotics, photonics, quantum, nanotechnology, advanced materials, and sensor technology.
The investment in Q*Bird is managed by the Cottonwood Dutch Seed Fund vehicle, which includes financial Dutch government support from RVO.
“We are thrilled to back this pioneering quantum cybersecurity company that is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge solutions to safeguard data and systems against emerging threats. The untappable solution of Q*Bird will dramatically change the cybersecurity world,” says Alain le Loux, General Partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund.
QDNL Participations is a specialist venture fund investing in early-stage quantum technology companies.
Ton van ‘t Noordende, General Partner at lead investor QDNL Participations, says, “We commend Q*Bird for their groundbreaking quantum secure networking technology. There is growing recognition in today’s world that digital information transfer is not secure, particularly in a post-quantum era. Q*Bird’s technology sets itself apart from existing post-quantum cryptography technologies by providing inherent security that is effectively untappable. We’re thrilled to back them in their mission to become a leading global quantum security company.”
InnovationQuarter is the regional economic development agency for the greater Rotterdam, The Hague area.
InnovationQuarter finances are innovative and fast-growing companies that assist international companies in establishing their businesses in this region and facilitate (international) collaboration between innovative entrepreneurs, knowledge institutes, and the government. InnovationQuarter has €300M in funds under management.
Erik van der Zant, Head of Investments at InnovationQuarter, says, “Q*Bird not only builds up critical IP in quantum communication in the region of South Holland, but the company will also further help strengthen the cyber resilience of some of the most critical infrastructure in the Netherlands and Europe such as the Port of Rotterdam.”
Read the orginal article: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/delft-based-qbird-bags-2-5m/
