EeroQ Raises $7.25M in Funding Led by B Capital’s Ascent Fund to Build Scalable Quantum Computer With Ethical Focus
The Chicago-based startup is the only company designing quantum computers (QC) using electrons floating on helium (eHe).
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#hpc—EeroQ, a quantum computer (QC) chip design company, today announced its first round of institutional funding after five years of R&D, a $7.25M Seed Round led by multi-stage investment firm B Capital’s Ascent Fund, with participation from V Capital, Calibrate Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Unbound Ventures, and Red Cedar Ventures. B Capital Chair Dr. Howard Morgan and Senior Principal Morgan Polotan are joining the board.
Quantum computers are the next generation of supercomputers, and may allow for breakthrough discoveries in key areas such as pharmaceutical development, material science, finance, and many other areas. Building a QC is a tremendous challenge, which has not been met by any company or academic institution thus far. EeroQ’s design offers the following key advantages to help bring QC to market sooner:
- The building blocks (“qubits”) of EeroQ’s computer allow for our large-scale computers to be the size of a thumbnail as opposed to competitors which are the size of datacenters at full scale. This is because we use single electrons, the smallest particle in nature.
- Scaling from one to thousands of quality qubits is made easier by our use of today’s standard fabrication process, CMOS.
- EeroQ’s single electron qubits also offer potential for excellence in all quality metrics of QC power: long coherence times, all-to-all connectivity, and the ability for mobile qubits. Long-term success will value both quality and quantity of qubits. Recent reporting from BCG illustrates why such metrics are important for building a powerful QC.
“Since our founding in 2017, we were always thoughtful in how we grew EeroQ, and now was the right time to find a top tier institutional capital partner. We didn’t want to rush what we believed was a special and unique product,” said Nick Farina, EeroQ CEO. “The small size of our devices allows us to be competitive with all other efforts in a dramatically more capital efficient way. Our system has far fewer moving parts than other types of QC designs, and that gives us a huge advantage in capital efficiency and time to scale.”
B Capital led the funding round from its first dedicated early-stage fund Ascent Fund II. Ascent closed in July at $250 million and aims to help global entrepreneurs lead the next wave of innovation through technology and digital enhancements.
“B Capital’s Ascent Fund is very excited to be able to invest in EeroQ, which is building with a different approach to QC than we’ve seen elsewhere in the market. It offers far greater scalability than other technologies, which, if achieved, would dramatically hasten our ability to solve giant real-world problems and improve the lives of people around the world,” said Dr. Morgan.
EeroQ has also emerged as a leading voice in the quantum computing industry for the early adoption of ethical guidelines in the development of such a powerful future technology. This effort has been led by EeroQ Co-Founder Faye Wattleton, an internationally known leader in board governance and public policy. EeroQ has developed research on ethical frameworks for responsible use beginning in 2018, and will continue to advocate for early ethical considerations. “In many other technologies, governance has been an afterthought,” says Wattleton. “But in this field, we have a chance to engage in multidisciplinary ethical thinking ahead of major impact.”
The funding announcement is the latest milestone for EeroQ, which recently added Princeton Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor Steve Lyon as CTO, and completed its 9,600 square foot state of the art lab in Chicago. After choosing Chicago as its HQ, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said earlier this year that “Chicago is primed to become a major hub for quantum technology thanks to a number of notable investments which will have long term benefits for our entire region. Thus, in choosing to operate on Chicago’s West Side, EeroQ will not only be well-positioned to capitalize on the many opportunities that quantum technology will drive, but also help to revitalize communities in need.”
About EeroQ
EeroQ was founded in 2017 to build a large scale QC using electrons on helium (eHe). This type of QC was conceived as an idea design in the late 1990s, but was not feasible to build at the time due to technical limitations. Now, EeroQ has the team and tools in place to bring eHe to the forefront of the QC race, and help create early ethical and policy guidelines to maximize the positive impact of QC. EeroQ’s co-founders are Prof. Johannes Pollanen, Nick Farina, Faye Wattleton, David Ferguson, and Dr. David Rees. EeroQ’s core technology is patented and developed in partnership with Michigan State University. For more information, see our introductory video here, and for photos of our prototype chip and team, click here.
About B Capital
B Capital is a multi-stage global investment firm that partners with extraordinary entrepreneurs to shape the future through technology. With $6.5 billion in assets under management across multiple funds, the firm focuses on seed to late-stage growth investments, primarily in the enterprise, financial technology and healthcare sectors. Founded in 2015, B Capital leverages an integrated team across eight locations in the US and Asia, as well as a strategic partnership with BCG, to provide the value-added support entrepreneurs need to scale fast and efficiently, expand into new markets and build exceptional companies. For more information, click here.
Contacts
Lindsay Jablonski
Prosek Partners on behalf of B Capital
Ljablonski@prosek.com
Rebecca Unger
The New New Thing on behalf of EeroQ
rebecca@thenewnewthing.co