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Quantum Industries raises $10M to transform cybersecurity for the quantum era
Quantum Industries (QI), a startup in quantum secure communications for critical infrastructure, has announced the successful completion of its seed financing round, raising a total of $10 million in fresh capital.
Cybercrime is estimated to cost over $10 trillion by 2025 and critical infrastructure is the target of over half of attacks. This funding will enable QI to commercialise its technology, which is the only way to provide critical infrastructure with absolute security from cyberattacks on communications systems and the looming threat of quantum computing, which will break today’s conventional encryption systems in seconds.
QI’s proprietary Quantum Key Distribution (eQKD) technology is based on the principle of quantum entanglement – a revolutionary approach to cybersecurity that provides encryption via a law of physics which is inherently impossible to hack.
QI is uniquely positioned to build a pan-continental backbone quantum secure communication network. It is the only company capable of providing the highest level of security, over the longest distances, using a more efficient approach that results in lower costs. It is a key supplier of the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure programme (EuroQCI) and is working with national and international critical infrastructure providers to deliver the foundations of the most secure communication in the world. This has already resulted in 1.8 million euros of booked sales in QI’s second year of operation.
With ever-increasing demand for computing power, QI’s technology is also ideally suited to enable the next generation of data centres that connect multiple quantum computers to store, process and secure data. Producing record numbers of entangled photons – the building blocks of quantum secure communication – QI’s technology is able to securely and efficiently connect multiple quantum computers within these facilities.
The financing round was led by Sparring Capital Partners and Findus Venture, two prominent European venture capital firms, as well as KGAL, a global asset manager specialising, among others, in infrastructure investments. Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, former Board Member of Daimler AG, CEO of Daimler Trucks and Supervisory Board Member of Andritz AG and AMAG will join the Board of QI for Sparring Capital along with other industry and investment professionals. QI has also secured grants from government innovation agencies, further supporting its ambitious research and development agenda.
“We are thrilled to have the support of both private investors and public institutions as we drive forward the next generation of quantum-secure communications. The financial and societal cost of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure is huge so organisations cannot afford to compromise on security,” said Dr. Felix Tiefenbacher, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Quantum Industries GmbH. “The enthusiasm for our technology is incredible – every potential customer we’ve spoken to recognises its value and wants to learn more. With our first customer projects already underway, this marks a significant step towards commercialisation.”
Dr. Rupert Ursin, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Quantum Industries, added: “We have harnessed more than 40 years of Nobel Prize-winning scientific research to set a new benchmark for quantum secure communications. From day one, our goal has been to establish a global leader in this field. With this investment, we now have the resources and the backing to realise that vision on a global scale. It’s a vision our investors share, and together, we aim to establish Quantum Industries as a key player in securing the future of global communications for critical infrastructure.”
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