A French quantum computing company announced Wednesday it has successfully secured €115 million ($133.72 million) in new investment funding, with backing from France’s state-supported investment bank Bpifrance, along with chipmaker STMicroelectronics and Sealsq.
The startup, called Quobly, received this major financial boost amid a surge of government investment in quantum computing technology across both the United States and Europe. Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would commit €1 billion toward quantum computing development, just one day following the Trump administration’s reveal of $2 billion in funding for similar technology initiatives.
While quantum computers hold theoretical promise for solving complex problems in chemistry, biotechnology and cybersecurity that would require conventional computers thousands of years to complete, today’s quantum machines remain less dependable and stable compared to traditional semiconductor-based systems that have benefited from more than 50 years of continuous improvement.
Quobly’s strategy focuses on creating affordable, dependable quantum systems using quantum chips built with modified transistors – the same components that drive regular computers – following a similar path taken by other emerging companies in this field.
“We benefit from the economy of scale of this industry,” explained Maud Vinet, CEO and co-founder of Quobly. “The cost of producing our chip leads us to design quantum computers that will be a 100 times cheaper than competing technologies.”
The company has established a close partnership with STMicroelectronics for chip manufacturing, with approximately 15 team members working directly within the chipmaker’s facilities.
According to Vinet, the company requires the consistent and reliable outcomes that only large-scale chipmaker production facilities can provide.
“It requires the yield and the quality of fabrication of commercial fabs,” Vinet explained. “We needed an agreement with this commercial fab to exchange the learning of what it is that is needed to optimize the technology.”
Quobly intends to offer cloud-based access to its initial systems from its Grenoble, France headquarters before the end of this year.
Additional participants in the funding round included the European Innovation Council, Blast, Air Liquide Venture Capital and current investor Innovacom.
