Quantonation’s double-sized second fund shows quantum still has believers

Quantum computing volition not beryllium replacing supercomputers successful 2026, fto unsocial reaching concern scale. And yet, capitalist appetite for companies pursuing the elusive quantum advantage hasn’t dwindled — it has increased.

Quantonation Ventures, a task steadfast investing successful quantum and physics-based startups, has closed its oversubscribed 2nd money astatine €220 million, oregon astir $260 million. That’s much than doubly the size of its inaugural fund, and comes successful summation to different signals that the quantum wintertime isn’t coming yet.

While immoderate warned that excessively overmuch quantum hype and not capable tangible outcomes would yet origin backing to collapse, the other has happened. Take the prediction that quantum volition yet ace modern encryption: that infinitesimal has nary wide timeline, and yet governments person joined Big Tech successful the race.

In the years since Quantonation’s motorboat successful 2018, the quantum exertion assemblage has go little incipient, with some technological breakthroughs and aboriginal request from world and concern labs. As a result, determination has besides been “a displacement successful the types of concern opportunities that are available” to its 2nd fund, Quantonation spouse Will Zeng told TechCrunch. 

One illustration is what Zeng describes arsenic the “picks and shovels” opportunity, with companies processing technologies that enactment the quantum industry. He cited the illustration of Dutch startup Qblox, a long-boostrapped institution that was selling quantum power hardware and bundle to Quantonation portfolio companies earlier the VC steadfast co-led its Series A.

This increasing ecosystem besides explains wherefore backers are doubling down connected Quantonation, and wherefore different dedicated quantum funds specified arsenic QDNL and 55 North person emerged.

“VCs admit that this is not an casual country to put successful astatine the aboriginal stage. The exertion is precise circumstantial and complex, the markets are often new, and the teams arsenic well,” Zeng said.

The firm’s thesis is to put aboriginal to seizure much value; but a fistful of quantum companies person already gone public, and their shares person surged successful caller months. According to Bloomberg, this “quantum frenzy” is partially stocked by Nvidia, whose CEO Jensen Huang declared successful June 2025 that “quantum computing is reaching an inflection point.”

Despite the information that quantum chips person yet to outperform classical computers extracurricular of purpose-built benchmarks, statement is increasing that real-life applications are lone a fewer years away, from beingness sciences to caller materials. That’s successful portion acknowledgment to advancements successful mistake correction — the quality to hole the mistakes that quantum systems are prone to.

Google’s Willow chip was a landmark for mistake correction successful 2024, but nary architecture has won yet, and smaller players are still successful the race. Zeng noted that a astonishing fig of companies person entered DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. He besides believes that beyond the nationalist marketplace excitement, “there are much breathtaking technologies that are presently private.”

For Quantonation, those backstage opportunities span a wider canvas than quantum chips alone. Fund 2 has already invested successful 12 startups, with a people portfolio of astir 25, covering not conscionable the bundle and concern layers needed to marque quantum vantage real, but besides adjacent physics-based technologies specified arsenic photonics and lasers.

This expanded thesis is backed by investors aged and new. According to the firm, large investors from its archetypal vintage, including Singapore’s Vertex Holdings and Bpifrance’s Fonds National d’Amorçage 2, person returned for the 2nd fund, with caller constricted partners including the European Investment Fund, Grupo ACS, Novo Holdings, Planet First Partners, and Toshiba.

Quantonation’s geographic scope is arsenic international. With dual office successful Paris and New York City, the steadfast has backed French quantum companies including Pasqal and Quandela, but besides placed bets successful Asia and North America — and volition proceed doing so.

“In a batch of the areas we put in, there’s not yet a wide determination winner, […] and a batch of the probe has travel from universities successful galore places,” Zeng said.