- Quantonation invests in Yaqumo Inc., marking its first-ever backing of a Japanese quantum company. The move signals growing momentum in Japan’s quantum ecosystem. Quantonation, which has deployed $350M+ across 38+ companies including Pasqal and Multiverse Computing, continues to be a key global signal of early-stage quantum credibility.
- Q-Factor emerges from stealth with a $24M seed round led by NFX and TPY Capital, with participation from Intel Capital and others. The startup is positioning itself at the intersection of quantum algorithms and enterprise applications, joining a growing wave of well-funded early-stage quantum software companies.
- IQM Quantum Computers raises €50M from BlackRock ahead of a planned public listing via merger with RAAQ. The deal would position IQM as the first publicly listed European quantum computing company, marking a major step toward quantum capital markets maturity.
- Quantinuum moves closer to IPO after Honeywell confirms a confidential SEC filing for a potential public offering. The filing signals accelerating momentum in quantum hardware commercialization and investor readiness for large-scale quantum companies.
- Orange Quantum Systems raises €15M in a second seed round backed by the European Innovation Council Fund. The company is scaling its quantum chip testing infrastructure, targeting one of the key bottlenecks in quantum hardware development and manufacturing.
- C12 unveils a long-term roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2033 using carbon nanotube spin qubits. The plan spans four generations of systems, targeting 100,000+ qubits and advanced error correction with progressively improving error rates.
- Quantum Art extends its Series A to $140M, raising an additional $40M as it targets a 1,000-qubit system. The Israeli startup is accelerating efforts toward commercial-scale quantum computing deployment.
- QuiX Quantum demonstrates “below-threshold” error mitigation on a photonic processor, achieving net error reduction in a scalable system. The result strengthens the case for photonic architectures in fault-tolerant quantum computing.
- SpinQ Technology raises ~$83M in a Series C+ round, bringing total Series C funding close to $1B in three months. The funding supports rapid scaling of its quantum hardware development and manufacturing efforts.
- QuantWare raised $178M to scale superconducting quantum processors, signaling strong momentum in industrial-scale hardware development.
- Quantum Motion raised $160M to advance silicon-based quantum computing, reinforcing Europe’s push toward CMOS-compatible quantum architectures.
- eleQtron GmbH closed a €57M Series A to scale its trapped-ion quantum computers using MAGIC technology, accelerating the move from lab systems to deployable quantum infrastructure.
“We are targeting quantum advantage in the next year, demonstrated through algorithms with real commercial use cases.” Hannu Kauppinen, CEO & Co-Founder, QMill.
For this edition of Qbit Curious, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Hannu Kauppinen, CEO and Co-Founder of QMill, a Finnish quantum software company focused on the NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era.
QMill builds hardware-agnostic quantum algorithms and AI-driven optimisation tools designed to make today’s imperfect quantum computers practically useful, while translating cutting-edge research into early commercial applications.
After spending more than 25 years at Nokia, what led you to start QMill?
Hannu explains that after a long career at Nokia, he wanted to build something new in a space with significant growth potential, where he could have real impact at an early stage. Quantum computing offered exactly that opportunity.
He describes it as a deliberate shift into a frontier technology where both research and commercial upside are still forming.
“Starting or founding a startup in quantum computing is a perfect opportunity to do that, and I’m very happy that I made that move.”
For readers new to QMill, please give a short introduction & tell us what sets your quantum algorithm approach apart from other players in the NISQ space?
Hannu explains that QMill is focused on the NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era, building quantum algorithms designed specifically for today’s imperfect and error-prone hardware. He emphasises that what sets QMill apart is its ability to combine early-stage research breakthroughs with practical engineering. Their first product, quantum circuit compression, is built around AI-powered optimisation techniques that improve how algorithms run on real quantum devices.
Hannu also highlights the founding team’s background, combining world-class research capability with experience in scaling technology businesses something he sees as critical in a still-emerging industry.
The broader QMill founding team includes Ville Kotovirta (CTO), a former VTT quantum algorithms lead focused on applied quantum software; Mikko Möttönen (Chief Scientist), a leading academic in quantum technology and co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers; and Toni Annala (Chief Algorithm Engineer), a mathematician specialising in quantum algorithms and optimisation. Together with Hannu Kauppinen, they form a rare mix of deep academic quantum expertise and proven experience in building and scaling technology companies.
Many companies are still exploring use cases for quantum computing, how does QMill identify which problems are truly “quantum-ready” today?
Hannu describes this as a structured matching process between business needs and quantum feasibility. QMill works directly with customers to identify problems that are both commercially meaningful and realistically solvable with near-term hardware.
He explains that the team evaluates problem structure, size, and computational complexity, then benchmarks it against what current and near-term quantum systems can deliver. This includes hybrid workflows combining classical computing, simulations, and access to real quantum devices when available.
Hannu notes that QMill uses mathematical estimation and performance modelling to define what “quantum-ready” means in practical terms expected runtime, resource needs, and solution quality under realistic noise conditions.
This allows promising use cases to move beyond theory into early-stage industrial pilots.
Your proof-of-concept algorithms can run on simulators or real devices. How do you balance near-term applicability with preparing for fault-tolerant quantum systems?
Hannu acknowledges that working with today’s quantum computers is inherently complex due to noise, limited qubit counts, and constrained access.
He explains that QMill’s approach is to absorb this complexity internally so that customers can focus on outcomes rather than hardware limitations.
At the same time, designing for today’s constraints also prepares the company for the future. If algorithms and workflows perform under noisy intermediate conditions, they will scale more effectively toward fault-tolerant systems.
As Hannu puts it: “If we can manage it now, we will also manage it in the future.”
You emphasise working with “highest-potential customers.” What industries are currently seeing the most tangible value from quantum algorithms?
Hannu says QMill is currently working across both the research ecosystem and early industrial applications. On the research side, their quantum algorithm suite is used by developers, researchers, and students through universities and high-performance computing centres.
He explains that QMill provides its tools via licensing agreements to national HPC centres and research institutions, which then distribute access for education and research use cases.
On the industrial side, Hannu highlights emerging traction in critical infrastructure, energy, finance, logistics, and telecommunications industries where optimisation, simulation, and complex system modelling are already pressing computational challenges.
How important are partnerships with hardware providers in your strategy, given that you are hardware-agnostic?
Hannu stresses that hardware partnerships are essential to QMill’s strategy. They ensure interoperability across different quantum computing platforms and allow QMill’s algorithms to be tested and demonstrated on the latest hardware generations.
These collaborations also work both ways: they support hardware providers by showcasing real algorithmic workloads, while giving QMill access to cutting-edge systems.
At the same time, Hannu emphasises that QMill remains hardware-neutral, allowing customers to run workloads on whichever quantum infrastructure best suits their needs.
Looking ahead five years, what milestones would signal that quantum algorithms have moved from experimentation to real commercial impact?
Hannu identifies “quantum advantage” as the key milestone when quantum algorithms demonstrably outperform classical systems on useful, commercially relevant problems.
He expects this to emerge within the next few years as hardware continues to improve, particularly with the introduction of logical qubits and early error correction techniques.
Beyond that, he points to “expanded quantum advantage” by around 2030, where quantum systems will begin enabling complex optimisation and simulation tasks that are not feasible on classical supercomputers today.
What does the next 5 years look like for Qmill?
Hannu explains that QMill’s focus is to turn leading-edge research into commercially viable products, prioritising areas where there is clear product-market fit rather than pursuing every possible technical direction.
The company is currently building its business across both the research/developer ecosystem and industrial applications, with quantum-enabled data security highlighted as a particularly fast-growing area of demand.
Geographically, QMill plans to expand beyond Finland within the next 18 months, establishing a presence in Europe and North America while scaling both R&D and commercial teams in parallel.
He describes this phase as moving from research-driven innovation toward structured international growth, anchored in real customer demand.
Would you like your company to feature in a future edition of Qbit Curious?
Get in touch to discuss.
