planqc announces a Series A fundraising of 50 million euros

Brief overview

• Planqc, a quantum computing company based on the digital atom, announced that it has secured €50 million in Series A funding.
• The round was led by European Family Office CATRON Holding and DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF).
• The company was founded in 2022 by scientists from MPQ and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and is based in the heart of Munich’s Quantum Valley.

PRESS RELEASE — planqc, the European leader in quantum computing based on digital atoms, proudly announces that it has secured €50 million in funding. This substantial Series A investment is led by European family office CATRON Holding and the DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF). Additional financial support is provided by Bayern Kapital, the Max Planck Foundation, other private investors, existing investors UVC and Speedinvest and includes a non-dilutive grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Alexander Glätzle, CEO and co-founder of planqc, said: “This latest investment round is a strong confirmation of our technology as a leading platform for quantum applications. This substantial support puts us in an ideal position to take on our global competitors with our “Made in Germany” quantum computers, targeting an emerging market valued at several billion euros.”

planqc’s unique technology, based on award-winning research at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics (MPQ), aims to rapidly advance the development of industry-relevant quantum computers. The new funding will be used to establish a quantum computing cloud service and develop quantum software for applications in sectors such as chemistry, healthcare, climate technology, automotive and finance. Today, planqc is already using quantum machine learning to work on climate simulations or more efficient batteries for electric vehicles.

Dr. Sebastian Blatt, CTO of planqc, explained the core of planqc’s technology: “Unlike most other companies, including large technology companies, we use individual atoms – confined in crystals of light – as qubits. This approach is the fast track to increasing the number of qubits and improving their quality, prerequisites for being the first to deliver fault-tolerant quantum computers.”

Founded in 2022 by scientists from MPQ and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU), planqc is located in the heart of the Munich Quantum Valley (MQV). Recently, the company was commissioned by the German government to deploy a 1,000-qubit quantum computer at the Leibniz Supercomputing Center, one of the country’s leading supercomputing facilities. In addition, planqc won a European tender to develop a quantum computer for the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

Dr. Torsten Löffler, Investment Director at DTCF, said: “We are delighted to invest in a startup that is not only a leader in high-impact technologies, but also enables new advances in the world’s most pressing computing challenges across various industries by providing access to the technology in the form of a quantum cloud service. planqc’s impressive track record of securing contracts – in particular the DLR tender – and government grants in just 18 months of operation underlines the company’s role as a pioneer in the quantum computing sector, both in Europe and globally.”

Professor Immanuel Bloch, Director of MPQ, added: “At MPQ, we have a strong tradition of supporting spin-offs from our institute and transferring fundamental science to industry. planqc is the latest example of this and builds on our expertise in trapping, cooling and manipulating cold atoms and molecules. In the future, we look forward to expanding this collaboration.”

The MPQ, in collaboration with planqc, has already demonstrated that the number of neutral atoms used as qubits can reach 1,200. Achieving this industrial milestone in terms of the number of qubits paves the way for fault-tolerant – and therefore practically useful – quantum computers. A further scaling up to 10,000 or even 100,000 qubits is expected in the coming years. These systems will then be able to solve previously insoluble problems.

The computing power of quantum computers is poised to revolutionize the discovery of new materials and pharmaceuticals, address optimization challenges in areas such as climate research, industry, and transportation planning, and usher in a new era of cryptography. Quantum machine learning will unlock unprecedented applications for artificial intelligence, while providing the scientific community with an entirely new understanding of the world.

Anna Christmann, Federal Government Coordinator for Aerospace and Delegate for the Digital Economy and Start-ups at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection: “The success of planqc demonstrates that today’s innovative research can become tomorrow’s future-oriented companies, thereby strengthening our competitiveness in the long term. We are proud that our ongoing commitment to innovation-friendly frameworks and easier access to venture capital is paying off, and we continue to work every day to improve the start-up ecosystem in Germany and Europe.”

“Neutral atoms are currently on the fast track to achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing,” adds Hermann Hauser, representative of APEX fund Amadeus Technology, one of planqc’s early investors. “I am deeply impressed by planqc’s rapid progress in this field. Securing over €50 million in contracts in 18 months and realizing Europe’s first network of 1,200 atomic qubits are remarkable milestones for planqc and Europe’s technological sovereignty. I look forward to our continued collaboration in this pioneering field.”

“Quantum computers are among the technologies that can offer unpredictable added value by facilitating or even enabling the discovery, research and development of other future technologies. Examples include new medicines, sustainable battery technology or climate simulations. The technologically promising approach of plancq combined with the existing technological maturity convinced us,” says Monika Steger, Managing Director of Bayern Kapital.

Benjamin Erhart, General Partner at UVC Partners, concludes: “planqc’s rapid progress since our initial investment is rooted in both planqc’s scientific excellence and its ability to attract world-class talent. Consistent with our strategy of creating enduring category leaders, it was clear that we needed to significantly double down on planqc.”