Split between operations in Lviv and San Francisco, Haiqu has raised $4 million in a pre-seed funding round. The startup is focusing on building “careful software for clumsy machines”, i.e. a software layer that can optimise the current state of quantum hardware. The round is aimed at further supporting the startups’ R&D efforts as well as pressing forward with go-to-market activities.
Haiqu’s $4 million pre-seed round was led by MaC Venture Capital and saw the participation of Toyota Ventures, SOMA capital, u.ventures, SID Venture Partners, and Roosh Ventures alongside angel investors including Paul Holland, Alexi Kirilenko, and Gordy Holterman.
Quantum computing. It’s here, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. Save for a few errors in computations, we’re ready to tackle some of the biggest questions known to humankind.
However, it’s exactly these errors, often driven by the instability of qubits (naughty by nature?) that have been the Achilles heel for quite some time now. But that’s not to say that there aren’t armies of engineers, physicists, and generally genius-level folks working on this conundrum.
While some are still operating in stealth or new approaches forming in a lab or a dorm room near you, as of today, we can add another funded entry to the field in Haiqu, a uniquely US/Ukrainian venture.
“We leverage our expertise in quantum complexity, AI, and high-performance computing to create a product that we believe can streamline the entire industry,” explains Haiqu co-founder and CTO Mykola Maksymenko. “With past experience in building and scaling deep tech R&D in large corporations, we appreciate the challenges of bringing complex technology to market. We are eager to get our tech into the hands of users as soon as possible.”
The startup was formed and incubated in the fall of 2022 within the Creative Destruction Lab Quantum stream in Toronto by Richard Givhan (CEO), a Stanford alumnus and former EIR at Mitsubishi Electric, and Maksymenko, whose CV includes time as a researcher at the Max Planck Society and the Weizmann Institute of Science and head of R&D at SoftServe Inc.
On the investment, Toyota Ventures’ Jim Adler commented, “We’ve been watching the quantum computing space for years, but the hardware and hype have kept us just watching. Haiqu caught our attention with their optimisation software that boosts quantum hardware to solve practical industry problems.”
And you didn’t think I’d let the chance to compose a Haiku about a quantum computer company named Haiqu just slip by, did you?
Quantum realm dances,
Bits entangled, states entwined,
Mysteries unfold.
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