- QSimulate, a growing quantum-simulation company leveraging advanced quantum mechanics to model molecular interactions, has raised a seed financing round, bringing its total funding to $11 million.
- Classiq has secured a major funding round from strategic investors, including AMD Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, and IonQ, bringing its total funding to over $200 million. (Need total funding figure to finalize.)
- The University of Bristol, the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, and Elevate Quantum have launched a ground-breaking trans-Atlantic quantum technology partnership, fostering collaboration and innovation across continents.
- Equal1 is leading the QUBIC project, which has secured €13.7 million in DTIF Call 7 funding, marking a major milestone for Ireland’s growing quantum computing ecosystem.
- Google announced a major breakthrough in quantum computing: an algorithm that completed a molecular structure calculation 13,000 times faster than the most advanced classical supercomputers.
- Quantum Fabrix (QFX), a University of Oxford spin-out, has raised £2 million in seed funding to advance its modular quantum technology platform. Led by Tim Ballance (CEO) and Sadie Mansell (COO), QFX aims to drive next-generation quantum hardware development in the UK and globally.
- John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for their visionary work demonstrating quantum phenomena in macroscopic superconducting circuits.
“Photons are at the core of everything we do – from the internet to communication, to computing. Our goal is to harness them to build quantum systems that solve today’s hardest problems and enable tomorrow’s possibilities.” Niccolò Somaschi CEO & Co-Founder, Quandela.
For this edition of Qbit Curious, I sat down with Niccolò Somaschi, the CEO of Quandela, a pioneering photonic quantum computing company based in France. Founded in 2017, Quandela has become a leader in Europe, specializing in photonic quantum technologies that integrate seamlessly with existing semiconductor processes. Their work bridges the gap between matter qubits and photonic qubits, enabling scalable, high-performance quantum systems.
What was the original vision behind Quandela, and how has it evolved?
Quandela began as France’s first quantum computing company. The initial spark came from requests by the academic community worldwide: research groups needed a tool that could integrate photonic components and technology into quantum experiments.
“As we started providing these tools, it became clear that we could build a full quantum computing architecture around them,” Niccolo explains. “Our QC systems were inherently solving some of the photonics challenges faced by the community, which allowed us to advance quickly on our roadmap.”
Over the years, Quandela has evolved from providing tools to constructing complete photonic quantum computers capable of addressing both research and commercial needs.
Why focus on photonics? What advantages does this approach offer?
Photons are central to everything Quandela does, from light-based communication to computing. The company views photonics not only as a core engine for quantum computing but also as a module enabling networking and sensing applications across quantum technologies.
Three key advantages of photonics over other qubit modalities:
- Established infrastructure: Photonics relies on semiconductor materials already part of a thriving industry, allowing Quandela to leverage existing supply chains and foundries for scalable production.
- Hybrid connectivity: Quandela sits at the intersection of matter qubits and photonic qubits, a sweet spot other platforms are striving to reach. This enables efficient optical interconnects essential for qubit interaction.
- High-speed, dense qubits: Photonics allows for efficient component integration, enabling higher qubit densities and more effective logical qubit construction.
“This approach allows us to solve some of the most complex challenges in quantum computing while positioning the technology to address future markets,” Niccolo notes.
Where does Quandela fit in the broader quantum ecosystem?
Quandela sees itself as providing a “shortcut” through careful analysis of the quantum landscape. While some platforms face missing pieces needed for full error correction, Quandela’s approach ensures they can scale and integrate without these gaps.
“We’ve positioned ourselves to advance rapidly by solving the hard problems others are still trying to overcome,” Niccolo explains.
What do recent milestones, €50M funding and France’s first quantum computer manufacturing facility, unlock for Quandela?
These achievements have been pivotal both technically and strategically. The company has leveraged momentum to advance error correction, unify hybrid architectures, and push commercial deployment.
“We’ve shown the industry that quantum computers can be deployed into datacentres effectively,” Niccolo says. “Delivering two fully operational systems demonstrated that there is real demand for industry-ready solutions and validated our technology in a practical setting.”
What does the next 5 years look like for Quandela?
Quandela is preparing for global expansion, from Europe (France and Germany) & Canada to the Middle East, and the United States. Niccolo anticipates further industry consolidation, with mergers among complementary companies, as well as growth in start-ups focused on quantum software to complement hardware platforms.
“We’re planning for both R&D and commercial deployment while keeping an eye on the broader ecosystem,” Niccolo says.
What leadership lessons have you learned leading a fast-scaling deep-tech company?
Leadership at Quandela involves balancing long-term innovation with near-term commercial value. Niccolo emphasizes providing both immediate value and working toward long-term technical milestones, navigating differences between European and U.S. approaches to validation and risk.
“It’s about designing a roadmap that allows both short-term and long-term decisions to be technically and commercially viable,” Niccolo notes. “This dual focus lets us scale while remaining true to our core mission of advancing photonic quantum computing.”
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