Rahko Raises £1.3 Million in Seed Round for Quantum Machine Learning Technology

(TechCrunch)
Rahko is a new U.K. startup that says it is building “quantum discovery” capabilities for chemical simulation, which could enable groundbreaking advances in batteries, chemicals, advanced materials and drugs.
It’s now raised £1.3 million ($1.6 million) in a seed round led by Balderton Capital, a rare move for a VC that normally only comes in at a Series A level. Joining the round is AI Seed and angel investors Charles Songhurst (former Microsoft head of Corporate Strategy), Tom McInerney (founder, TGM Ventures), John Spindler (CEO, Capital Enterprise) and James Field (CEO, LabGenius).
Chemical simulation is a vital capability for research that has not advanced significantly in recent years due to the limited computational power of classical computers. Rahko claims it has an arsenal of tools that may make quantum computers accessible and commercially usable at an accelerated pace, often through the use of hybrid approaches with classical computers.