Nu Quantum raises £7M in Pre-Series A funding round for quantum networking

Nu Quantum, a Cambridge-based quantum networking company, has raised £7 million in what the company is deeming a Pre-Series A funding round. Following the completion of 2020’s £2.1 million seed round, Nu Quantum says that the investment will be used to accelerate product rollout in conjunction with continued recruitment activities, as well as strengthening academic and corporate partnerships.

The Pre-Series A round was led by historic backer Amadeus Captial Partners and IQ Captial as well as new investor Expeditions Fund. The round also saw participation from existing investors Ahren Capital, Seraphim Capital, The University of Cambridge, and Martlet, and new investors including Presidio Ventures backed by Sumitomo Corporation, the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and Deeptech Labs.

The fundamental problem

While we’ve heard and seen early examples of the power of quantum computing, much like classical computing, the technology becomes somewhat finite when operating in a standalone scenario.

A fundamental problem of the de facto mechanism behind today’s quantum computing is that in order for these machines to solve societal progressing problems, the core needs to have somewhere in the range of 100,000 to 1 million qubits functioning as a single unit. The current record holder is Berkeley, California-based Atom Computing’s quantum computer that surpassed 1,000 qubits only just days ago.

Smaller cores, networked

Nu Quantum’s solution is taking a decidedly different approach in the fact that they’re attempting to, instead of working on larger and larger numbers of qubits in a single core, networking a number of smaller quantum computers together. An internet of qubits, if you will. Not quite, but a fair and comprehensible comparison.

Amadeus Capital Partner’s Dr. Manjari Chandran-Ramesh explains:

“The ability to apply quantum computing at scale is what’s needed to unlock the potential of this revolutionary advancement in processing power. 

Nu Quantum’s systems architecture approach, driven by quantum entanglement, is unique in the market today and has great commercial potential. Further, its product solution is poised to be able to adapt to any type of qubit technology, which makes the impact far-reaching.”

The company currently has partnerships established with Airbus, The University of Cambridge, The National Physics Laboratory, Arqit, and BT.

Lead image via Nu Quantum