Quantum is heating up in Europe — last year, investors pumped $793m into the sector, a 50% increase compared to the year before, according to Dealroom.
That capital is, however, concentrated in certain hubs: the UK and France took in $317m and $310m of that funding respectively. But there’s another country looking to burst onto the scene and become Europe’s go-to spot for quantum innovation: Austria.
There is precedent for Austria to plant the quantum flag.
“Austria has a strong legacy in quantum physics, thanks to pioneers like Erwin Schrödinger and Wolfgang Pauli,” says Alexander Glätzle, CEO and cofounder of Planqc, a German quantum processing company which expanded into Austria. Erwin Schrödinger was a theoretical physicist who contributed to the wave theory of matter and other fundamentals of quantum mechanics and Wolfgang Pauli was a theoretical physicist and one of the pioneers of quantum physics.
This legacy has continued: Innsbruck, a city in the west of Austria, is known for the pioneering work of Peter Zoller, Rainer Blatt and Hans Briegel, say Magdalena Hauser and Wolfgang Lechner, co-CEOs of Innsbruck-based quantum architecture company ParityQC.
Having these big names is already an attraction for budding entrepreneurs, they add: “For ParityQC, this was the perfect environment to start the company as a spinoff from the University of Innsbruck and the Academy of Sciences, due to the huge network of distinguished academic institutions and experts.”
From government support to a budding ecosystem of like-minded quantum founders, here’s how Austria plans to become the first country you think of when the sector is mentioned.
Partner potential
While Austria wants to be the go-to location for quantum in Europe, it knows that its goal requires collaboration with hubs across the continent. This openness is beneficial for startups within its ecosystem.
“Austria, due to its size and possibilities, has always supported strong collaboration with its European partners,” say Hauser and Lechner. “This allowed us to participate in European flagship projects like [quantum simulation project] PASQuanS or Euro-HPC HPCQS [which aims to integrate two quantum simulators with two existing European supercomputers] early on.”
Austria has a strong legacy in quantum physics.
Glätzle agrees, adding that the role of academic institutes also bolsters the sector’s presence in the country. According to the Austrian Business Agency (ABA), the national investment promotion agency of Austria, there are 13 notable institutions across the country shaping the quantum research landscape.
“Institutions such as the Austrian Academy of Sciences have played a major role in advancing research and attracting international talent,” he says. “For founders, this means access to an experienced scientific community and a collaborative research environment, which is crucial for innovation and growth in the quantum sector.”
One successful spinout from the Austrian Academy of Sciences is Quantum Technology Laboratories (qtlabs) which was founded in 2017 in Vienna. In 2023, it joined other European collaborators developing global quantum internet enabled from space.
A supportive ecosystem
Last year, a collective of over 60 research groups in Vienna and the surrounding areas, Linz and Innsbruck was set up with a goal to strengthen Austria’s position as a quantum leader. It was dubbed the Cluster of Excellence Quantum Science Austria (QuantA). Austria also launched Quantum Austria in 2021, a programme to encourage and fund research and development in the field.
“These initiatives aim to support both academic research and the commercialisation of quantum technologies, creating a supportive ecosystem for new innovations,” says Glätzle.
Having this community is vital, as it not only provides financial backing but also fosters collaboration, mentorship, and networking, which are all key for startups in such a specialised field.
While these foundations already being set are promising, Glätzle adds that there is potential for academic institutions to become even more central to the growth of Austria’s quantum expertise.
“Building stronger ties between academia and industry, as seen in Europe’s deep tech hotspots of Cambridge or Munich, will be essential to translate research into commercial applications,” he says.
Beyond these curated groups, the startup community in Austria’s quantum scene is growing. One example of a community contributing to this network, say Hauser and Lechner, is the Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC) which boasts nearly 200 members across Europe.
ParityQC was one of the first members, but it’s not just founders forming this collective. Glätzle highlights the importance of investors growing a presence in the country: “The emergence of strong venture capital firms like Speedinvest, one of Europe’s leading VCs, and Apex, with a strong track record in deeptech, is also helping to build a robust ecosystem.”
He adds: “Having this community is vital, as it not only provides financial backing but also fosters collaboration, mentorship, and networking, which are all key for startups in such a specialised field.”
Governmental support
With an emerging ecosystem, governmental support is key to get things going: and Hauser and Lechner say that Austria’s leaders are all in on supporting quantum.
“The quantum computing market is still in an early phase, [and] government contribution plays a significant role in building up successful companies and ecosystems by acting as its first customer and supporting research and development,” they say.
The perfect time to believe in quantum computing and make it a priority for the next decade to invest in this technology is now.
One form of support is financial boosts to foster more innovation. The Quantum Austria project was one initiative to receive a slice of the €100m pledged by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research to expand quantum research and technology until 2026.
“The funds are provided through organisations like the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), which not only supports research but also helps startups by encouraging collaboration between the public and private sectors,” says Glätzle. “By launching initiatives such as Quantum Austria and backing them with substantial funding,
[the government has] shown a strong commitment to advancing quantum technologies.”
It’s a combination of this support with the academic prestige and potential for partnerships that will attract — and retain — quantum startups to the area, say Hauser and Lechner
“With ParityQC we act globally while investing in building up our headquarters in Innsbruck and fostering close collaborations with universities, RTOs and companies worldwide,” they say. “Our aim is to become the global leader for quantum architecture.
“The perfect time to believe in quantum computing and make it a priority for the next decade to invest in this technology is now.”
Austrian Business Agency (ABA) provides help and support when foreign companies want to set up business operations in Austria or expand existing facilities. Information about the Quantum technologies ecosystem in Austria is to be found here. Catch up with ABA at startup events including Web Summit (11-14 November), Slush (20-21 November), ViennaUP (8-16 May 2025) or many more listed here.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/austria-quantum-brnd/
