VC Firm QDNL Participations Expands Team to Back Quantum Tech Startups

Insider Brief

• QDNL Participations announced new hires to help it become the definitive investor in quantum technologies globally.
• This ambition builds on the firm’s current €15 million fund focused on the Dutch quantum ecosystem.
• The new Investment Director and Special Advisors follow the addition of quantum computing pioneer Chad Rigetti last year.

PRESS RELEASE — QDNL Participations, the venture capital firm launched to accelerate the thriving Dutch quantum technology ecosystem with a €15 million fund, has signaled its wider ambitions for the future with a significant expansion of its team.

New Investment Director, Dr. Kris Kaczmarek previously spearheaded quantum investment activities at the London-based venture fund 2xN, co-founded by early backer and former chairman of Cambridge Quantum Computing (now Quantinuum), Niels Nielsen. There he backed a number of notable quantum startups, including Sparrow Quantum and QSimulate, as well as served on the board of Kvantify. Prior to moving into venture,  Kris was Head of Product for ORCA Computing, the full-stack photonic quantum computing company spun-out of his PhD research.

Based in London, UK, he will expand the capacity for QDNL Participations to access the best quantum tech startups across Europe and the US. Quantum computing pioneer Chad Rigetti, founder of Rigetti Computing, joined QDNL Participations as a Venture Partner in summer 2023, giving the firm a notable foothold in Silicon Valley.

New special advisors

Joining Kris as new additions to the QDNL Participations team are two special advisors to help guide the fund’s investment activity.

Nadia Carlsten sits across two of the most promising fields in technology today: quantum tech and AI. She is CEO of the Danish Centre for AI Innovation A/S, which has been set up to own and run Denmark’s first AI supercomputer, Gefion, which will be built in partnership with NVIDIA. 

Nadia was previously VP of Product at SandboxAQ, where she was responsible for managing product development across the company’s business verticals, including quantum security, quantum sensing, AI, and simulation.

Charles Marcus has a distinguished background in the study and development of quantum technologies. Following an academic career at Stanford, Harvard and the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, he became Scientific Director of Microsoft Quantum Lab–Copenhagen in 2016.

In April 2023, Charles joined the University of Washington faculty in Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Engineering, and in Physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, as the Boeing Johnson Endowed Chair. 

Widening ambitions in a high-potential field

QDNL Participations was launched by Quantum Delta NL in March 2023. Its current fund has already invested in many of the Netherlands’ most high-potential quantum startups, including Qblox, QuantWare, QphoX and Q*Bird.

The firm’s ultimate goal is to become the definitive investor in quantum technologies globally, at a time when fields like quantum computing and quantum security are increasingly expanding beyond the lab and into early commercialization.

“Our aim is to invest in, and help shape, category-defining quantum technology companies,” says Ton van ‘t Noordende, General Partner at QDNL Participations. “Our expansion reflects our global ambition, as we build out a team with outstanding academic and entrepreneurial achievements.

We at QDNLP believe now is the optimal window for early stage quantum investments, with maturing technology and markets combining with significant non-dilutive capital tailwinds to create ideal conditions for new and early stage ventures. Our goal is to help identify and build the next wave of global leaders in quantum technology, and the best performing quantum-specific venture firm. 

“And that level of expertise really is required. The quantum space is just too specialized, and the companies and market so unique, that a generalist or hands-off investment model just won’t work.”

Dr. Kris Kaczmarek said: “I am excited to join the team at QDNLP to expand its active VC model, proven in the Dutch quantum ecosystem, and build a globally leading quantum fund. With quantum technologies maturing at a rate never seen before, now is the time to back the next generation of founders, who not only know the science, but know where to apply it to create real value.”