5th October 2021
Just months after its announcement it had achieved a ‘breakthrough’ in quantum computing, Equal1 has secured a multi-million euro investment, as well as a new board member.
UCD spin-out company has received a multi-million euro investment from venture capital firms btov and Atlantic Bridge.
The silicon quantum computing company’s latest funding injection will bring the total capital invested in it to over €10m. Atlantic Bridge has been a long-time funder while btov has come on board as a new investor. The investment is also supported by current investors 808 Ventures and Enterprise Ireland.
With its latest funding boost, Equal1 will be able to focus on meeting the demand for affordable, compact and functional quantum computers. The company is targeting a first-generation production system within 24 months.
In May, the company said it was the first to demonstrate a fully integrated quantum processor unit (QPU) operating at 3.7 Kelvin. This was a “major breakthrough” for the quantum computing industry. The QPU has been integrated into a quantum computer demonstrator called ‘Alice’, which has been operating continuously for 18 months at the company’s sites in Ireland and the US.
Dirk Leipold, founder and CEO of Equal1 commented: “The support of a new, extremely knowledgeable deep tech investor in btov, along with the continued support of Atlantic Bridge will enable us to accelerate our development of a useful QPU and deliver on our vision of democratising quantum computing.”
Today’s funding announcement coincided with another announcement that the company had appointed btov partner Dr Christian Reitberger to its board of directors.
“We are excited to be part of this journey with the impressive Equal1 team,” said Reitberger on his decision to join the company’s board.
“Equal1 has a trajectory to create massively scalable quantum solutions for real applications without the need for an exotic new technology platform, leveraging existing semiconductor foundry processes to deliver quantum computing solutions that make artificial intelligence (AI) more efficient and sustainable,” he added.
Gerry Maguire, Equal1 board member and general partner of existing investors Atlantic Bridge, said: “We have supported Equal1 from the very beginning and have been impressed and excited with what the team has achieved to date.”
“With this new round of funding, we are confident that the team can deliver on its exciting goals of bringing the technology to market,” he added.
The company has research and development teams in NovaUCD in Dublin, and Silicon Valley in the US. It was awarded NovaUCD’s spin-out of the year in March.
Equal1 has also recently appointed a world-renowned scientific advisory board and appointed experienced tech entrepreneur Declan O’Mahoney as non-executive chairperson of its board of directors.
Source: Silicon Republic
Image source: Equal1