According to the State of Quantum 2024 report, VC investment in quantum computing fell by 50% last year, from $2.2 billion to $1.2 billion in 2022, with funds shifting to generative AI. However, government spending on quantum was expected to reach $40 billion over the next 10 years. Now, a new European VC fund wants to capitalize on that trend.
The peculiarly named QDNL Participations has reached an initial close of €25 million for its proposed €60 million global fund for early-stage quantum startups.
However, QDNL plans to expand abroad and invest more internationally.
The company's previous €15 million fund focused on the Dutch quantum ecosystem and backed startups such as Qblox, QuantWare, QphoX and Q*Bird.
Ton van 't Noordende, general partner at QDNL Participations, told TechCrunch: Over the past decade or so, we've seen incredible research and the emergence of a new startup ecosystem with more than 600 companies. Additionally, more than $42 billion has been invested by more than 20 governments in the past few years. This created infrastructure, cleanrooms, and equipment that essentially de-risked the technology. ”
The emergence of QDNL is the latest sign that the Netherlands is on its way to becoming a significant quantum computing ecosystem, with the government (with EU financial support) already supporting an entire initiative called Quantum Delta NL. QDNL also happens to be an investor. QDNL.
The team includes quantum computing pioneer Chad Righetti as a U.S. venture partner and Chris Kaczmarek, a quantum-focused venture capitalist in London who joined as investment director from quantum VC firm 2xN. They join advisors Nadia Karsten (CEO of the Danish AI Innovation Center) and Charles Marcus of the University of Washington.
Quantum computing has had a rocky start to the year, with Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia's Jensen Huang offering pessimistic forecasts about when quantum computers will arrive. However, Nvidia quickly pivoted and announced a Quantum-exclusive Nvidia Day at an event scheduled for March.