Universal Quantum has raised $4.5 million as it emerges from stealth with plans to build a practical quantum computer it claims will be far more powerful than versions currently being developed by competitors.
Investors in this early-stage funding round include Hoxton Ventures, Village Global, Propagator VC, Luminous VC, and 7percent. Universal Quantum also disclosed that it has officially been spun out of the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, where Professor Winfried Hensinger and Dr. Sebastian Weidt founded it in 2018.
Hensinger said the company is on target to build the world’s first “large-scale quantum computer,” using a pioneering approach developed at the university. If the company makes good on that promise, this next-generation computing architecture would have an impact on more industries — and much sooner — than many experts have generally predicted.
“It’s a really exciting next step,” Hensinger said. “I’ve worked on this for 20 years as a university professor, and now we go on to actually building something useful, which is probably going to change the world.”
Source: “Universal Quantum raises $4.5 million to build a large-scale quantum computer”, Chris O’Brien, Venture Beat
