Q.ANT’s Series A Round Funding for Q.ANT Photonic AI Chip
Q.ANT received €62 million in series A funding for quantum sensors and photonic processing for AI.
Series A funding
German deep-tech business Q.ANT, a photonic processing pioneer, secured a €62 million Series A financing round. Quantum sensor research and photonic processor commercialisation for AI and HPC will be advanced by this large funding.
The finance was spearheaded by UVC Partners, imec.xpand, and Cherry Ventures. L-Bank, Staatsbank für Baden-Württemberg, Verve Ventures, GRAZIA EQUITY (Grazia Equity), Venionaire Capital AG (including EXF Alpha), LEA Partners, Onsight Ventures, and TRUMPF are other deep tech investors. One of Europe's largest deep tech capital rounds, this investment will transform artificial intelligence calculation.
The investment will allow Q.ANT to:
Increase technological production. Improve present and future photonic processor development. Increase its personnel in several fields. Expand globally, especially in the US, to meet customer deployments. See also QADC & QDAC: Enabling Next-Generation Quantum Systems.
Focus on Tech:
AI/HPC Photonic Processors:
CEO Dr. Michael Förtsch founded Q.ANT in 2018 as a Trumpf spin-off. The startup was formed to rethink computers using light instead of energy.
Q.ANT announced the first commercial photonic processor for AI and HPC applications in the past five years.
TFLN underpins these processors.
As a plug-in co-processor, the Q.ANT Native Processing Server fits easily into existing data centres.
Real-world tests indicate up to 30 times energy efficiency, 50 times performance improvement, and 100-fold data centre capacity without complex active cooling systems.
Projections show data centre energy use may surpass Japan's annual electricity consumption by 2026. Artificial intelligence infrastructure requires more energy, which this technology addresses. Q.ANT's chips can lead the way in establishing a new, more sustainable AI infrastructure while delivering breakthrough performance and cutting data centre running costs, investors say.
Q.ANT intends its photonic processing technology to underpin global AI by 2030.
Quantum sensors:
The finance also supports Q.ANT's quantum sensor portfolio development and commercialisation.
This includes creating high-precision quantum magnetometers and quantum atomic gyroscopes for satellite attitude control. Quantum phenomena help these sensors measure.
Strategic Advice: ARM creator Hermann Hauser and former Infineon Management Board member and Intel CVP & GM Hermann Eul have joined Q.ANT's advisory board to help the company grow and commercialise. The startup will benefit from their semiconductor scaling, industrialisation, and international commercialisation expertise.
Trumpf, an early investor, helped Q.ANT build its groundbreaking photonic chip architecture with strong infrastructure and technical support.
Summary
German deep-tech company Q.ANT raised €62 million (nearly $73 million) in Series A funding. Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, and imec.xpand led this large investment to enhance and commercialise Q.ANT's quantum sensor technology. These include high-precision quantum magnetometers and quantum atomic gyroscopes for satellite attitude control. The financing will enable production scaling, technology development, labour growth, and global expansion, especially into the US market.