The £42m quantum equity funding was led by Bosch Ventures (RBVC), with Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE) and British Patient Capital also joining, adding to renewed participation from existing backers including Oxford Science Enterprises, Inkef and Octopus Ventures.
Bringing total funding to date to £62m, Quantum Motion‘s latest funding will allow the UCL and University of Oxford-founded project to accelerate development of silicon quantum processors, by developing deeper ties with its manufacturing partners and trebling the size of its central London headquarters.
Previous equity and grant funding from UK and EU investors, totalling over £20m, has enabled the design and validation of integrated circuits capable of generating, routing and processing signals at deep cryogenic temperatures — operating down to a few tenths of a degree above absolute zero.
Trialling silicon for quantum computing
The company, founded in 2017, plans to develop scalable quantum computers by harnessing highly advanced silicon transistor manufacturing processes, with integrated circuits calling for the use of complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOS).
Over the past two years, the scale-up has overseen peer-reviewed experiments exploring how silicon could prove to be the fastest, most cost-effective and scalable way of producing qubits.
Recent demonstrations include the mass characterisation of thousands of multiplexed quantum dots on its Bloomsbury chip, leading to a world-record measurement of devices created on a silicon chip.
“The support of leading technology investors enables us to realise our vision of a quantum computer built using standard foundry processes,” said James Palles-Dimmock, CEO of Quantum Motion.
“This support, along with the continuing UK national quantum programme and European initiatives, provides a step-change in our capabilities. We have assembled a world leading team and with the funding and support in place, we are ready to scale and deliver on our vision.”
Ingo Ramesohl, managing director at funding round leader Bosch Ventures, commented: “CMOS-based quantum computing leverages on today’s sophisticated chip manufacturing processes and fabs.
“Quantum Motion has demonstrated that it can take quantum theory out of a lab into the real world to create a scalable path to a quantum future. We’re excited to join the company and break new ground in the years to come.”
Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Patient Capital, added: “Quantum Motion blends sector expertise with a unique offering that is pushing the boundaries of quantum computing.
“Quantum computers will play an essential role in solving challenges that are far beyond the computational capabilities of today’s super computers. We are delighted to be investing in this UK deeptech leader via Future Fund: Breakthrough as the business continues to develop cutting-edge technologies.”
Quantum computing brings the opportunity to transform computing power with the potential to disrupt sectors ranging from energy and pharmaceuticals to finance and logistics, due to the technology being powered by qubits, which can create solutions beyond traditional binary units possessing the value of either zero or one.
Related:
Q&A: IDC research manager on how quantum will transform business — Heather West, Ph.D, quantum computing research lead at IDC, spoke to Information Age about how quantum could transform business in the coming years.
Salesforce makes first quantum investment, backing Q-CTRL — Global quantum software provider Q-CTRL has announced Series B-1 funding of $27.4m, with participation from Salesforce Ventures.
