Quantonation's Double-Sized Second Fund Shows Quantum Still Has Believers

Quantonation Ventures closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220M, signaling sustained investor appetite for quantum computing despite technology still being years from industrial scale.

Quantum computing will not be replacing supercomputers in 2026, let alone reaching industrial scale. And yet, investor appetite for companies pursuing the elusive quantum advantage hasn't dwindled it has increased.

Quantonation Ventures, a venture firm investing in quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed second fund at €220 million (approximately $260 million) more than twice the size of its inaugural €91 million fund. The firm is now the largest dedicated quantum investment firm globally by assets under management.

In the years since Quantonation's launch in 2018, the quantum technology sector has become less incipient, with both technological breakthroughs and early demand from academic and industrial labs. As a result, there has also been "a shift in the types of investment opportunities that are available" to its second fund, told Quantonation partner Will Zeng.

One example is what Zeng describes as the "picks and shovels" opportunity companies developing technologies that support the quantum industry, like Dutch startup Qblox, which sells quantum control hardware and software. This growing ecosystem explains why backers are doubling down on Quantonation, and why other dedicated quantum funds such as QDNL and 55 North have emerged.

Major investors from its first vintage, including Singapore's Vertex Holdings and Bpifrance, have returned for the second fund, with new limited partners including the European Investment Fund, Novo Holdings, Grupo ACS, and Toshiba.

Fund two has already invested in 12 startups, with a target portfolio of around 25, covering not just quantum software and hardware, but adjacent physics-based technologies such as photonics and lasers. Portfolio companies include French quantum leader Pasqal, Spanish quantum-inspired AI specialist Multiverse Computing, Australian silicon-based qubit startup Diraq, and Swiss nanomaterials company Chiral.

Global funding for quantum technologies last year reached a record $5 billion, according to Dealroom data, a sharp increase from previous years. This momentum suggests that despite the long road to commercialization, believers in the quantum future remain undeterred.