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FROM THE EDITOR.

Over the past couple of weeks, one consistent theme has weaved its way through our stories and data — there’s substantial interest for quantum technology investment. This week’s announcements were no exception, but they highlight something that bears our attention: the interest is broad and diverse among stakeholders.

One of the key developments this week was QuantWare’s successful completion of a €20 million Series A funding round. The investment was led by the Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund and Innovation Quarter, with additional participation from the EIC Fund and other investors. This influx of capital is set to further the company’s technological advancements, enhance its chip fabrication capabilities, and accelerate the deployment of the Contralto-A quantum processing unit (QPU), which is designed to support quantum error correction efforts.

It is particularly significant that the Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, a state-backed initiative, is actively contributing to this investment round alongside more conventional funding sources. This suggests a growing recognition at the governmental level of quantum computing’s potential and the need for long-term financial backing to foster its development.

In a similar vein (in Spain)… the Spanish government announced a major investment of €67 million (approximately $70 million USD) in Multiverse Computing through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT). You can read more below, but this move will result in the government taking an equity stake in the company, further underscoring the increasing role of public-sector funding in quantum innovation. (Probably a side not, that shouldn’t be a side note, this announcement also reflects the growing convergence of quantum and AI.)

What does this indicate? To me, it signals a widespread and growing commitment to advancing quantum technologies. While quantum computing remains a high-risk domain, the involvement of patient capital providers — particularly those backed by government initiatives — demonstrates confidence in the long-term potential of these technologies and a willingness to support their development through sustained investment.

Have a great weekend!

— Matt, Chief Content Officer at The Quantum Insider

INSIDER BRIEF.

• QuantWare Raises

• ‘Mad’ About Quantum Comms

• UCalgary Partners with QAIVentures

• Rigetti Reports Loss

• QunaSys Receives Funding

• India Needs Multi-Pronged Quantum Approach

• Space-Based Quantum Key Distribution

• India Expansion

• NanoQT Joins UMD Quantum Ecosystem

• Space-Based Quantum Key Distribution

• University of Sussex ‘Quantum Silicon Valley’ Plan

• Advantage… Advantage?

• Breaking -- Quantum Day... More Than a Gesture

• *Breaking -- China Launches Deep-Tech Fund

ANALYST NOTES.

The Noteworthy & Nuanced

This week the spotlight is taken by many countries announcing either the launch or continued support of their national quantum programs. Italy is rolling out a national quantum strategy to strengthen its position in quantum computing, communication, sensing, and metrology. The initiative is partially driven by the acknowledgement of the country’s relatively low funding in quantum tech - only €227.4M from 2021 to 2024.

Slightly to the west (but still just as sunny), Spain is supporting Multiverse Computing with $70M of funding. While it’s part of an initiative that is focused more on AI than quantum, the industry stands to benefit. Spain has a strong fleet of companies involved in quantum, especially those exploring financial applications (you can discover more in our recent deep dive into quantum computing use cases for finance - report available on the Quantum Insider platform).

Last but not least (and far to the east), China is preparing a $138B government-backed fund for emerging technologies, including quantum computing. China has long been a strong global participant in the quantum race, and these kinds of initiatives come as no surprise considering the increasing funding and successes coming from the US and Europe. — Alan Kanapin, Analyst at The Quantum Insider

The Research Rundown

This week’s quantum research does not shy away from the indulgence of variety, spanning fundamental physics, AI applications, materials science, and quantum networking—a reminder that the field is anything but one-dimensional.

A proposed quantum computing method for cross-section calculations in high-energy physics suggests a pathway to reducing the computational load of collider simulations, though practical hardware constraints remain a hurdle. Similarly, quantum-assisted load forecasting for power grids demonstrated improved predictive accuracy, but questions persist about scalability and noise resilience in real-world deployment.

On the hardware side, IonQ’s high-speed mixed-species gates pushes trapped-ion to a new stage, achieving MHz-level gate speeds that could accelerate modular quantum networks. Meanwhile, the CarboQuant lab’s focus on carbon-based quantum materials presents a long-term vision for room-temperature quantum devices, an ambition that contrasts sharply with today’s reliance on extreme cooling. Quantum computing’s theoretical advantages continue to materialize.

As quantum algorithms mature and new materials expand hardware capabilities, the interplay between computational advancement and physical constraints molds the next phase of progress. This week’s research paints glimpses of a plausible future—but for now, the space between theoretical potential and real-world application remains quantum computing’s enduring tension.— Cierra Choucair, Journalist & Analyst at The Quantum Insider

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INSIDER SPOTLIGHT: Multiverse Computing Announces a $70 Million Investment From The Spanish Government

➡️ The Spanish government will acquire a stake in Multiverse Computing through a €67 million ($70 million USD) co-investment via the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT).

➡️ Multiverse Computing, based in San Sebastian, specializes in quantum-inspired AI software that compresses language models by up to 90%, reducing energy consumption and enabling deployment on smaller devices.

➡️ The investment is part of Spain’s broader €200 million AI funding initiative, which includes €130 million for experimental AI projects, €50 million for healthcare AI integration, and €24 million for AI adoption in SMEs.

➡️ At MWC Barcelona 2025, officials highlighted Spain’s AI R&D successes, including projects in secure health data sharing, AI-driven agriculture, and sustainable energy solutions.

➡️ This announcement also reflects a growing (rapidly growing) convergence of artificial intelligence and quantum.

Analyst Commentary

Spain’s investment in Multiverse Computing signals a strategic move to strengthen the country’s AI and quantum technology ecosystem while reducing reliance on large-scale data center infrastructure. By backing AI compression technology, Spain is addressing one of AI’s biggest hurdles—its growing energy demand. But we find this interesting that a company mostly known for its quantum and quantum-inspired software is the target of this investment.

Multiverse Computing’s approach to compressing language models aligns with broader industry efforts to make AI more sustainable. Training and running large-scale AI models require significant computational resources, but if Multiverse’s technology proves effective, it could open the door for energy-efficient AI applications that can operate on consumer devices rather than cloud-based servers.

There are a few more common takeaways from this announcement. First, this investment also shows how Spain is strengthening its ambition as a player in the deep-tech sector. The government’s broader AI funding package—supporting experimental projects, AI adoption in healthcare, and small businesses—demonstrates a commitment to building an innovation-driven economy. Second, Spain is not just funding research; it is prioritizing technology transfer and commercialization, as mentioned in the AI R&D programs like TartaglIA, AgrarIA, and IA4TES.

However, scaling deep-tech startups remains a challenge. While Multiverse Computing has received recognition as a rising European AI player, translating its quantum-inspired compression techniques into widespread commercial success will depend on execution. Spain’s investment provides a financial runway, but partnerships with major AI firms and cloud providers will likely be crucial for long-term impact.

This leads to a more non-traditional look at this story. Ultimately, it may serve as an example of how the typical guidelines of startup funding are being maybe not thrown out, but definitely re-written, in the emerging quantum industry (and likely deep-tech industry in general). Government sources are converging with traditional financial sources, like venture capital, while quantum software is converging with AI to make that runway a little more tenable and investments a little more patient.

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DATA SPOTLIGHT.

Microsoft released Majorana 1, the first iteration of their QPU based on topological qubits. Topological qubits are based on Majorana quasiparticles, made by superconducting nanowire devices made of InAs (indium arsenide). The chip has 8 qubits, but by design is intended to house 1,000,000 qubits in the future. Core to the chip architecture are tetrons: next steps from Microsoft involve a 4×2 tetron array which should be equivalent to 2 logical qubits. This low ratio (physical to logical qubits) highlights the superior error correction benefits of topological qubits - for comparison, IBM’s Condor QPU with 1121 physical qubits is equivalent to 12 logical qubits. Fidelities for the QPU have not been disclosed, though from Microsoft’s paper in Nature we know that their assignment error probability in parity measurements is 1%.

INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS.

🪖 IonQ has delivered and commissioned a quantum networking system for research and development at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, New York, supporting advancements in secure quantum communications, optimization, and materials science.

💰️ QuantWare has raised a €20 million Series A round to advance its VIO technology, which enables the development of scalable quantum processors capable of exceeding one million qubits.

🖥️ VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and IQM Quantum Computers have launched Europe’s first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer, now accessible via the VTT QX quantum computing service.

🧳 The PQC4eMRTD project, funded by the EU under the Digital Europe Programme, has launched to develop and standardize quantum-resistant cryptographic protocols for electronic machine-readable travel documents, coordinated by Infineon Technologies AG, with partners including Thales, CryptoNext Security, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center.

💵 Quantum Industries GmbH has secured $10 million in seed financing to commercialize its entanglement-based QKD technology, which provides unhackable encryption for essential infrastructure.

🤝 KDDI, KDDI Research, Jij, QunaSys, and Waseda University have partnered to develop an AI-Quantum Business Platform, integrating AI and quantum computing for real-world applications in optimization and quantum chemistry.

🇪🇺 Jij Inc. is expanding its global quantum optimization efforts with the launch of Jij Europe Ltd. in the UK, joining UKQuantum and collaborating with ORCA Computing and the National Quantum Computing Centre. The company plans to hire 20 researchers in the UK and establish a second European office in Hamburg, Germany.

💸 QAI Ventures is launching its first North American quantum accelerator in Calgary, in partnership with Quantum City, to strengthen Canada’s role in global quantum innovation. The program, starting March 10 at the qHub, will support startups in quantum computing, imaging, and sensing, providing market access, funding, and infrastructure.

🧲 Oxford Instruments NanoScience has unveiled TeslatronPT Plus, a superconducting magnet measurement system for fundamental materials physics, featuring an open architecture for flexibility and remote control.

EVENTS.

March 20 -- NVIDIA's GTC 2025 featuring the inaugural Quantum Day event.

March 25-27 -- Quantum Australia Conference will be held in Brisbane. The conference will explore the theme The Translation of Quantum – how current and future industries can leverage the power of quantum.

March 31-April 1 -- Qubits 2025, D-Wave’s annual user conference is themed “Quantum Realized” and will spotlight customer success stories, technical roadmap updates, scientific achievements, and advancements in quantum AI. The event takes place at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

April 2-4 -- NQCC’s Scalability in Quantum Computing Conference from 2nd-4th April 2025 in Oxford, UK.

April 14 -- The 2025 Global Industry Challenge officially launches on World Quantum Day, bringing together innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to tackle real-world problems in life sciences, financial services, energy, and beyond

April 14-16 -- QuantumTech Washington D.C. April 15-16 - Main Conference and Expo. April 14 - Cryptography Spotlight Day. Conrad Hotel, Washington D.C.

May 14-15 -- Q2B Tokyo 2025

May 20-22 -- Join us for the 3rd annual IQT Nordics, May 20-22, 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and contribute to scaling quantum computers towards real world applications.

June 18-19 -- Quantum Now|ICI Quantique will be held in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Dec. 1-4 -- QUEST-IS 2025 Quantum Engineering Sciences and Technologies for Industry and Services From Quantum Engineering to Applications for Citizens. EDF Lab, Paris-Saclay, France