Paris-Based Startup C12 Quantum Electronics Raises $10M, Led by 360 Capital
Paris, June 8th 2021
C12 Quantum Electronics today announces the closing of a $10 million seed round comprising funds from 360 Capital, Bpifrance (Digital Venture Fund), Airbus Ventures, BNP Paribas Développement, and Octave Klaba (OVHcloud), with additional grants from Bpifrance and the Ile-de-France Region.
Founded in January 2020 by Matthieu and Pierre Desjardins, alongside scientists – Takis Kontos, a Research Director at CNRS, Matthieu Delbecq and Jérémie Viennot – C12 Quantum Electronics has crystallized a team of the world’s most accomplished experts in quantum electronics and carbon nanotube science to materialize their vision of a revolutionary quantum computing processor.
“This round will help accelerate the development of the company’s unique quantum computing technology. The groundbreaking innovation of C12 Quantum Electronics uniquely uses carbon nanotubes as the fundamental building blocks of its quantum processor. The company’s high-purity material minimizes errors and radically improves performance. Our quantum processor will have an unlimited range of applications, from optimizing transportation and logistics to transforming healthcare,” note the company’s twin founders Matthieu and Pierre Desjardins.
This funding will be used to expand its world-class team with cutting-edge tech developers and engineers, as well as establish a high-tech pilot production line, designed to include nanotube growth facilities, nano-assembly equipment, quantum measurement hardware, and more. Building upon the achievement of these first milestones, the startup aims to grow a range of quantum accelerators ready to be integrated into classical supercomputers, as well as design application-specific processors within the next five years, for example for optimization and quantum chemistry needs.
C12 Quantum Electronics’ Unique Technology
At C12 Quantum Electronics, a qubit, the fundamental functional unit of a quantum computer, is built from an ultra-pure carbon nanotube (the vertical line in the image), suspended above a silicon chip containing control electrodes and a quantum communication bus (the horizontal lines in the image). C12 Quantum Electronics’ carbon nanotubes are uniquely composed of isotopically purified 12C carbon atoms, which have zero nuclear spin, thus minimizing qubit decoherence.
“The quantum industry is still looking for the ‘ideal qubit,’ and there is a notable consensus across the scientific community that material science breakthroughs will be needed to build a scalable quantum computer,” explained Matthieu and Pierre Desjardins. “Carbon nanotubes will help scale quantum computing, in the vein of what silicon meant for classical computing. The continuing evolution of materials will help cultivate the emergence of this new industry,” they concluded.
Press release: https://www.c12qe.com/press-release-c12-fundraising-10md
Image: © Hubert Raguet / C12 Quantum Electronics / LPENS / CNRS Photothèque
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