German quantum computing startup eleQtron has raised €57 million ($67m) in a Series A funding round.

The company said the funding marks a “significant step” towards the industrial scaling of its technology, noting that the round ranks among the largest quantum computing Series A fundraises globally.

The round was led by Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group, with the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund also participating, alongside existing investors Earlybird and new investors Ankaa Ventures, Precitec, NRW.BANK (Düsseldorf), and IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH.

EleQtron said the new capital would be used to scale up its production capacity, expand cloud-based access to its systems, and further advance development of its hardware platform. The startup added that it already has an order backlog of more than €54 million ($64m), “underlining growing commercial demand and placing the company among the few quantum computing players with meaningful commercial traction.”

Commenting on the raise, Jan Henrik Leisse, CEO and co-founder of eleQtron, said: “Quantum computing is transitioning from a research-driven technology to an industrially usable infrastructure. With this funding, we are accelerating that transition and building systems that will solve real-world industrial problems.”

Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the chair of quantum optics at the University of Siege, eleQtron’s MAGIC (Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling) technology couples qubits to one another using magnetic field gradients. This method allows individual qubits to be controlled with high-frequency pulses in the microwave range, meaning that commercial signal sources can be used.

In July 2024, the company collaborated with NXP Semiconductors and fellow quantum startup ParityQC to build a quantum computing demonstration system in partnership with the QSea consortium of the DLR Quantum Computing Initiative (DLR QCI).

Located at the DLR QCI innovation center in Hamburg, the 10-qubit QSea I system was commissioned by the DLR QCI and includes prototype MAGIC hardware from eleQtron.