The race toward functional quantum computers is on – and startups are the ones paving the way to success. Through automating some of the most time-consuming processes in quantum computing, anglo-finnish startup QuantrolOx aims to make qubit control truly scalable.
For quantum computing to become a reality, there are still many roadblocks to iron out. In practice, practical quantum computers will need hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of qubits to sustain stable qubit gate performance.
However, qubits are extremely fragile and today’s quantum computers require constant intervention from quantum scientists in order to keep them tuned. Most of the time and effort in quantum labs currently goes towards tuning and maintaining the quantum computers. As a result, there’s very little time left for further development.
As the number of qubits gets to hundreds and beyond, the problem of qubit control gets exponentially more challenging and current techniques relying on expert intervention simply do not scale.
Born from the desire to make qubit control truly scalable, QuantrolOx is pioneering the development of automated control software bringing stable and sustained gate performance to qubits. Simply put, the software enables scientists to spend more time actually using quantum computers, rather than always fixing them. By automating the tuning, stabilisation, and optimisation of qubits, QuantrolOx is removing a key bottleneck in scaling of quantum computers – thus allowing businesses to properly harness the true advantages of quantum computing
In order to bring their new product to market and gain customer traction, QuantrolOx raised a new seed round of €3.5 million. The round is led by deep tech VC Voima Ventures, with participation from existing investors such as Nielsen Ventures and Hoxton Ventures. Joining the round as new investors are 2xN Ventures, Serendipity Capital and Oxford Science Enterprise. In addition to the funding round, QuantrolOx has also received the prestigious EIC accelerator financing package of 10.5m and is mentioned as a company of strategic importance to Europe.
As Finland has quickly become one of the capitals of the European quantum ecosystem, QuantrolOx has moved its headquarters to Finland to properly take advantage of the excellent talent pool and support from the Finnish and European agencies. QuantrolOx’s Oxford office will continue to grow and will remain as the primary hub for applied quantum research.
“While still years away from commercially available solutions, the quantum computing field is constantly evolving – in part thanks to the startups innovating in the field. Since Voima Ventures’ initial investment in late 2021, QuantrolOx has made significant progress both in team building and product development, and we’re excited to see their product hit the market. With an innovation enabling increased uptime and efficiency, QuantrolOx’s is paving the way to truly scalable quantum computers”, says Jussi Sainiemi, Partner at Voima Ventures.
