Deeptech

Q2 202415.04.2024

Quantum Computing

Picture of Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly

at Sifted

The promised quantum revolution is a slow burn. Because quantum involves harnessing some of the weirdest properties of physics, all the tech we use today must be redeveloped from scratch: the hardware, the software, the lot. So for anyone desperate to clap eyes on quantum’s killer application, well, they'll have to sit tight. “We’re still waiting for ‘that ChatGPT moment’,” Christophe Jurczak, cofounder of Paris-based VC firm Quantonation, told me recently.

Of course, the recent explosion of gen AI is a silly yardstick to measure quantum against. In deeptech terms, quantum is still young: “we don’t have 20 or 30 years of development,” Jurczak says. And stuff is happening. “Progress on hardware in the last six-to-eight months has been extraordinary,” he adds. Last week, Quantonation closed €70m of its second fund, intending to reach €200m by early 2025. Some of its portfolio companies are already harnessing tiny bits of quantum in their workflows, without quite achieving what Jurczak calls a “10x improvement on today’s computers”. Jurczak doesn’t like to speculate on what quantum will be able to do in the future, but others say it’ll help with things like accelerating drug discovery, modelling fusion reactions or creating extremely powerful encryptions — the digital locks that keep governments’ sensitive data safe.

Right now, making quantum do anything is a challenge — what works 90% of the time in the lab might work 40% of the time outside it. There are a lot of proof-of-concepts still floating around. Any tech that does exist is boxy and extremely complex. “It’s still hard to imagine a use case that’s not B2B in the short term,” says Jurczak. He feels the quantum industry hasn't always managed expectations well. “The community as a whole has not been good at crafting a narrative around quantum and what’s to be expected in the short term.” Still, Jurczak urges patience. “This is not a 10 year story,” he says. “The game is wide open and we haven’t started really scratching the surface of what’s possible.”

20 most promising early-stage startups

Sifted score
7.93
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Kipu Quantum
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2021
- HQ
  Karlsruhe, Germany
- Latest round
  Seed
  €10.5m / Dec 2023
- Total funding
  €13.5m
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Sifted score
7.44
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Multiverse Computing
Strong investor(s)
Serial founder(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2019
- HQ
  San Sebastián, Spain
- Latest round
  Series A
  €25m / Feb 2023
- Total funding
  €54m
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Sifted score
6.97
+0.57
Nu Quantum
Strong investor(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2018
- HQ
  Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Latest round
  Seed
  €8.4m / Nov 2023
- Total funding
  €12.5m
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Sifted score
6.64
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Alice&Bob
Strong investor(s)
Hiring
- Year founded
  2020
- HQ
  Paris, France
- Latest round
  Series A
  €27.3m / Mar 2022
- Total funding
  €32.8m
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Sifted score
6.46
-2.08
Terra Quantum
Strong investor(s)
- Year founded
  2018
- HQ
  St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Latest round
  Series A
  €13.6m / Feb 2022
- Total funding
  €78.2m
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