Quantum Motion lands another big-name investor: Sony Innovation Fund
U.K. start-up Quantum Motion, which is working on ways to bring silicon transistor manufacturing practices to quantum computers, has added Sony Innovation Fund as its latest high-profile investor.
Sony Innovation Fund is joining the second close of the company’s most recent funding round, announced in February of this year, which also involved Bosch Ventures and Porsche SE, and raised more than £42 million (U.S. $50.5 million) in equity funding. That figure brought the company’s total funding to £62 million (U.S. $74.5 million). Quantum Motion did not disclose the amount invested by Sony.
A statement from Quantum Motion said that Sony Innovation Fund brings value through its technical expertise and industry insights on CMOS semiconductor design and manufacturing, as well as its global reach that extends Quantum Motion’s international investor base into the Japanese market, which will be a major driver of quantum computing.
The start-up said it has designed and validated integrated circuits capable of generating, routing, and processing signals at deep cryogenic temperatures, operating down to a few tenths of a degree above absolute zero, and that recent demonstrations, such as the mass characterization of thousands of multiplexed quantum dots fabricated in a tier one foundry, have further underlined the company’s advantage.
Antonio Avitabile, Managing Director-EU, Sony Ventures Corporation said, “We are actively exploring investments in technologies that will be transformational with wide ranging applications. Quantum computing has the potential to have that impact, and we want to work with the companies that are best positioned to bring it to commercial scale. As our first investment in the quantum technologies space, Quantum Motion is already demonstrating tremendous advancement and leadership, and we are excited to help fuel their next stage of growth.”
James Palles-Dimmock, CEO of Quantum Motion, said, “We’re delighted to have Sony Innovation Fund on board as an investor, and to have access to its global network of resources, technical expertise, and industry insights. Alongside our existing investors, their support is going to help us scale the development of silicon-based quantum computers.”
Image caption: Quantum Motion’s leadership team (l-r James Palles-Dimmock (CEO), Prof John Morton (CTO), Anna Stockklauser (VP Product), Prof Simon Benjamin (CSO), Jane Osborne-Buglear (COO))
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.
