Quantum technology is a rapidly growing field that aims to solve some of the most challenging problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. It is estimated that a complex problem that would take a normal supercomputer a week to solve, can be solved in 1 second by a quantum computer. Large corporations such as Amazon, IBM, Honeywell, Google, and Microsoft are increasingly focusing on quantum computing as a potential solution to their most complex business puzzles. The market size could be well north of $100B by the end of this decade.
Here are a few of the innovative quantum computing startups we are excited about. These startups combine cutting-edge technology with physics and material science. We believe the startups on our list have a head start in this revolutionary field.
Multiverse Computing
Year founded: 2019, HQ: San Sebastian, Spain
Multiverse has its sights set on applying the power of quantum computing to revolutionize the traditional finance industry. It produces quantum-inspired algorithms in a SaaS format complete with an SDK/toolkit that’s easy to use and implement in common applications like Microsoft Excel. The startup has built partnerships with Amazon, Microsoft, as well as several other startups like Rigetti, IonQ, and Pasqal.
PASQAL
Year founded: 2019, HQ: Palaiseau, France
PASQAL specializes in manufacturing the quantum processors required by the most advanced quantum computers in the world. The company started as a group of researchers working at Institut d’Optique, a famed French research university and part of a group famous for their work on cold atom physics. Pasqal team consists of 25 top quantum engineers and is one of the first companies to receive investment from France’s new Defense Innovation Fund.
QC Ware
Year founded: 2014, HQ: Palo Alto, California
QC Ware provides quantum SW for those who don’t want to learn quantum. It focuses on providing quantum algorithms to traditional data scientists by combining the raw power of quantum computing with ML software. The signature software is marketed as turnkey so data leaders can plug and play instead of having to manage every piece of the quantum puzzle.
ColdQuanta
Year founded: 2007, HQ: Boulder, Colorado
ColdQuanta’s business is focused on cold atoms, which involves lasers that slow down or stop atomic motion. Cold atoms can then be manipulated into quantum matter that has use cases ranging from telemetry to atomic clocks to far more complex systems. It sells quantum lab equipment with designs around more sophisticated products like quantum radio frequency receivers, positioning systems and more.
Zapata Computing
Year founded: 2017, HQ: Boston, Massachusetts
SW development using quantum computing is a challenging, complex task that requires expertise that is relatively rare in the development landscape. Zapata is one of the market leaders in developing quantum SW with real-world use cases across pharma, engineering, finance, and more. After spinning out from Harvard in 2017, the team now consists of 36 quantum engineers and scientists and over 494 peer-reviewed publications in the field of quantum computing.
Q-Ctrl
Year founded: 2017, HQ: Haymarket, Australia
Selling shovels during a gold rush is the surest way to make money. Q-Ctrl provides tools to the nascent and rapidly growing quantum industry instead of directly working on algorithms or software. Most of the current qubits are noise and unstable. Q-Ctrl solves for HW error, instability, and noise, as cutting-edge applications like quantum sensing for the aerospace and reducing errors in medical research are just a matter of time.
Quantum Machines
Year founded: 2018, HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel
One of the core problems in quantum computing is harmonizing the interplay between hardware and software for maximum performance. Quantum Machines has developed an orchestration platform. The secret sauce is a device which was designed specifically for quantum and powering large quantum processors. Their universal language for programming quantum computers is seen as of the industry’s best shots at bringing quantum computing to the mainstream.
Strangeworks
Year founded: 2018, HQ: Austin, Texas
Strangeworks has built its business on a user-friendly platform that provides the power of quantum computing without the underlying complexity. The simple, easy-to-use connected platform promises to connect everyday people to complex quantum services that usually require massive amounts of effort. Over 100 developers worldwide use Strangeworks, and over 6800 quantum projects have been created so far.
1QBit
Year founded: 2012, HQ: Vancouver, Canada
Instead of building quantum algorithms and then finding problems to apply their solution to, 1QBit changes it up. They see big industry problems and then build quantum SW to solve those problems alongside their Quantum HW partners although 1QBit is platform agnostic.
Riverlane
Year founded: 2017, HQ: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Operating systems like Windows or Mac OS are what power the myriad tasks that humans accomplish on computers every day. Riverlane builds an OS for quantum computing. The SW powers quantum operations at the right level in the tech stack, increasing performance dramatically. The startup is targeting commercial applications in medicine and beyond.
Universal Quantum
Year founded: 2018, HQ: Brighton, United Kingdom
Universal Quantum builds a million-qubit quantum computer capable of tackling problems that would take today’s best supercomputers billions of years to solve. Instead of using lasers like many other quantum startups, Universal leverages microwave technology.
Quandela
Year founded: 2013, HQ: Marcoussis, France
Quandela provides a range of integrated quantum solutions based on single-photon technology. The company focuses on developing advanced products such as photon sources, detectors, and quantum processors, as well as custom-made quantum computing systems for industrial and scientific applications. The technology has applications in areas such as telecommunications, sensing, and quantum computing.
PsiQuantum
Year founded: 2016, HQ: Palo Alto, California
The startup aims to build a quantum computer with one million qubits, which it believes will enable the development of new applications in fields such as cryptography, chemistry, and material science. PsiQuantum has partnerships with major companies such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, and GlobalFoundries.
Qiskit
Year founded: 2017, HQ: Armonk, NY
Qiskit is an open-source platform designed to make quantum computing more accessible to researchers, developers, and businesses. It provides software tools and libraries for programming and simulating quantum computers, as well as access to real quantum devices through IBM's cloud infrastructure. Qiskit has been used in a variety of fields, including chemistry, finance, and optimization.
Atom Computing
Year founded: 2018, HQ: Berkeley, California
The startup aims to develop and commercialize scalable, room-temperature quantum computers based on neutral atoms. The technology is based on the use of individual neutral atoms as qubits, which allows for high coherence times and low error rates.
Quantum computing is here to stay. The above startups are based all over the world and bring different ways of thinking and problem solving to some of the planet’s most complex puzzles. We’re betting that at least a few of these startups will change the game in everything from medicine to finance.
/Service Ventures Team
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