Quantum computing infrastructure startup Welinq raises €5M pre-seed funding

Welinq SAS, a French startup that’s constructing quantum interconnects primarily based on impartial atom expertise, stated in the present day it has raised €5 million ($5.4 million) in a pre-seed spherical of funding.

The spherical was led by Quantonation, the primary enterprise capital fund that’s devoted to quantum expertise startups, and noticed participation from Runa Capital, the Paris Area, the French Nationwide Quantum Initiative, the French Banque Publique d’Investissement and the European Fee.

The startup is working to assist scale up quantum computing by means of using its superior “quantum memory technology,” which it says will function a type of quantum communication infrastructure that may allow “quantum web deployment.”

Welinq’s quantum memory-based interconnects are designed to entangle bodily separated quantum processing models to work together with one another. They depend on photons synchronized with quantum reminiscences to share quantum info and create entanglement between QPUs, that are the premise of all quantum computer systems. On this approach, Welinq says, it offers the infrastructure needed to extend the variety of qubits that may be built-in with each other, enabling the event of extra highly effective QPUs than is at present attainable.

The quantum reminiscence interconnects facilitate the storage and on-demand launch of quantum info. They work by leveraging laser-cooled impartial atom expertise that has demonstrated 90% effectivity in storage-and-retrieval, a parameter that measures how a lot info is retained by means of the method. Welinq is now creating its first, extremely environment friendly quantum interconnects that will likely be appropriate and deployable with quantum communication infrastructures.

Along with constructing extra highly effective QPUs, Welinq’s quantum interconnects can even allow the event of long-distance quantum info networks that can be utilized by geographically separated quantum computer systems to speak with each other, the startup stated.

Welinq co-founder and Chief Government Tom Darras defined that quantum reminiscences are the important thing lacking piece of {hardware} that’s required to scale quantum applied sciences. “Not solely should these gadgets be deployed in the marketplace on the earliest, however in addition they want to indicate extraordinarily excessive efficiency and robustness if we would like them to actually affect trade and society,” he stated.

These sentiments have been echoed by Quantonation Companion Christophe Jurczak, who stated environment friendly quantum interconnects are a key pillar for all the quantum infrastructure ecosystem that may speed up the event of real-world purposes. “The founding crew has groundbreaking experience and a transparent path to be impactful,” he stated.

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