Finnish quantum computing startup IQM Quantum Computers has raised $320m in a Series B round led by US firm Ten Eleven Ventures, marking the first time the Espoo-based company has secured American backing.
Founded in 2018, IQM is Europe’s best-funded quantum startup and a frontrunner in the race to build fault-tolerant machines.
The round — also supported by Finnish state-backed investor Tesi, pension funds Elo and Varma, and strategics including Schwarz Group and Winbond Electronics — brings IQM’s total funding to $600m. It marks the largest Series B ever raised in quantum computing outside the US, the company says.
IQM, which builds superconducting quantum computers for both on-premises use and the cloud, says the fresh capital will be used to push into the US market, expand its data centre and chip manufacturing capacity, and continue development towards error-corrected systems capable of scaling from thousands to millions of qubits.
The new financing sets it up to compete more aggressively with deep-pocketed US players like Microsoft and IBM, which are also vying to cross the million-qubit threshold.
“The biggest market (for quantum) globally is the US, it would be stupid to ignore it. Of course we appreciate there’s quite strong competition, but our recent success selling our first system to Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows we have a competitive product even in the US,” says CEO Jan Goetz.
“It’s really now about this next phase of growth from being a Europe-centric company to being a much more global company.”
A recent report shows IQM ranks first globally in the number of units sold — showcasing success in its commercial strategy of selling smaller systems internationally — while IBM leads in quantum deal value. IQM has so far sold 15 units to 10 customers globally.
Goetz says the plan is to ramp up its team in the US, where it currently has a few sales people. IQM has the option to set up a quantum data centre in the US if it sees big demand for its cloud business, or to set up assembly lines to assemble its quantum computers locally.
“Both need to be driven by actual traction that we see on the ground,” says Goetz.
It does not plan to move its chip development and production outside of Europe.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/iqm-raises-320m-series-b/
