Copenhagen-based venture capital firm 55 North has announced the first close of its €300 million quantum technology fund, raising €134 million from anchor investors Novo Holdings and EIFO. The fund, described as the largest dedicated quantum VC to date, will invest across the quantum ecosystem — including computing, sensing, and communication technologies — at various development stages. 55 North’s leadership team combines technical and investment backgrounds, with experience from organizations such as M Ventures, Amazon, Microsoft, and IonQ. The firm has already made its first two investments, participating in IQM’s €275 million Series B and Kiutra’s €13 million Series A-2. The fund’s creation aligns with broader European and Danish efforts to strengthen domestic capacity in strategic technologies as quantum research moves closer to commercial applications.
Quantum technologies have become a strategic priority at national, European, and global levels, with the EU, UK, Germany, France, and Denmark embedding them into core security and innovation frameworks. The G7 recently pledged coordinated action amid $40 billion in global public funding – underscoring that leadership is now critical for economic sovereignty, climate resilience, and national security, across the globe. The Danish government, which launched its National Strategy for Quantum Technology in 2023, has firmly committed to advancing the field as part of its long-term innovation agenda, which included the mandate for EIFO to spearhead the creation of a world-leading quantum investment fund. Against this backdrop, the anchoring of 55 North by EIFO and Novo Holdings marks a significant step in strengthening the global quantum ecosystem and its headquartering in Denmark provides the fund with access to a central hub of expertise and innovation, the ideal base for the fund to invest in quantum technologies across the globe.
The fund is led by Managing Partner Dr. Owen Lozman FRSC (ex M Ventures) alongside General Partners Dr. Helmut Katzgraber (ex Amazon, ex Microsoft), and Dr. Kai Hudek (ex IonQ). They are supported by Vsquared Ventures and Cambium Capital. The team, with roots from across Europe, the UK and the US, bring deep entrepreneurial and technological expertise, having built, run and backed successful deep tech ventures across the globe.
“Quantum is no longer a science experiment, it’s a strategic imperative,” said Dr. Owen Lozman, Managing Partner of 55 North. “As classical computing nears its physical and computational limits in applications like drug discovery and AI, quantum is well positioned to accelerate these workloads. Europe must push its quantum agenda to remain a producer, not just a buyer of quantum technologies. With our first close and early investments, we’re laying the foundation for the world’s quantum future.”
2025, the UN’s international year of quantum science and technology, marks 100 years of quantum mechanics and has emerged as a pivotal year with quantum investment surging to over €1 billion in Q1 alone, despite a 50% drop in overall tech investments1. This marks more than double the invested capital than the previous year, as the global quantum market reached $1.45 billion in 2024, with projections to hit $5.4 billion by 20302. This represents the decisive shift from quantum as a long-term research endeavour to commercial readiness, marking an unprecedented opportunity for advancements in the field. This movement is recognized across the globe, and has established itself as a long-term strategic focus, especially in Denmark, with its deep quantum heritage, who is building on its legacy to establish a global innovation hub for quantum technologies.
Peder Lundquist, CEO, EIFO: “We are thrilled to see 55 North launch. To fulfil the strategic objective of the Danish Government, we have teamed up with strategic partners to incubate a world-leading platform ready to invest in the important field of quantum technology. Quantum will shape industries, economies, and security frameworks worldwide. That is why Europe must act decisively to secure a leading position. With an outstanding team and solid backing from us, Novo Holdings, and further investors to come, 55 North is set to play a defining role.”
Søren Møller, Managing Partner, Novo Holdings: “We are very pleased to act as cornerstone investors in 55 North alongside EIFO, which shares our conviction that quantum innovation holds the potential to address some of the most critical challenges in human and planetary health. Innovation requires capital, and it is therefore essential to make the necessary resources available to the companies that create the solutions of tomorrow. This marks an important step in Novo Holdings’ quantum investment strategy, where we aim to back the most promising companies driving progress in the field. We see quantum technologies as a transformative enabler of life science solutions that can ultimately improve the health of people and the planet worldwide.”
Morten Bødskov, Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs: “We need to seize the potential of quantum technology. It can help us solve some of the major challenges we are facing. Just look at the opportunities within, for example, cybersecurity and supply chain optimization. But courage and investment are needed. In Denmark, we proudly carry on Niels Bohr’s legacy as we inaugurate the world’s largest quantum fund today. With it, we can invest in the major quantum breakthroughs of the future and more quickly get ideas out of the labs and into our society.”
55 North’s highly specialized approach focuses exclusively on quantum technologies, investing across three complementary areas that together constitute the complete quantum ecosystem: computing, sensing, and communication. Backing companies that reshape industry, accelerate discovery, and drive global progress, its investments will target enabling technologies, full stack solutions, and software and algorithms designed to solve real world problems. This diversified approach balances short-term commercial traction with long-term ambition, while creating synergies between portfolio companies that accelerate the entire field.
55 North’s initial two investments exemplify this strategic thesis and commercial approach. The €275 million Series B financing of IQM is the largest round raised by a European quantum technology company. IQM has installed the largest number of on-premises quantum computers in Europe and offers cloud access to quantum computing resources. The fund co-led the €13 million Series A-2 in Germany-based Kiutra, who are developing advanced cryogenic cooling systems, essential for efficient operation at the ultra-low cryogenic temperatures required for quantum computing and sensing.
The fund’s focus on European quantum leadership aligns with EU initiatives to maintain technological independence in critical computing infrastructure as quantum technologies transition from research labs to commercial deployment.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/55-north-e300-million-quantum-technology-fund/
