Israeli quantum computing startup Quantum Source raises $50 million in funding led by Eclipse

Israel-based Quantum Source has secured $50 million in Series A funding to advance photonic quantum computing, aiming to develop scalable, fault-tolerant quantum systems. The round was led by Eclipse, with Standard Investments, Level VC, Canon Equity, and existing investors Pitango First, Grove Ventures, 10D, and Dell Technologies Capital joining in.

This funding brings Quantum Source’s total raised to over $77 million. The new capital will bolster the company’s engineering capabilities and speed up its push to commercialize quantum computing. The focus is on building a complete quantum system capable of generating millions of qubits, the foundational units for quantum computation.

Major tech players like Alphabet’s Google are pursuing different strategies to build commercially viable quantum computers. While no practical applications have emerged yet, the potential is there for quantum machines to tackle data processing tasks that current chips simply can’t handle.

Quantum computers differ from traditional ones by using qubits, which can represent both 0s and 1s simultaneously, unlike the standard binary bits. Experts believe quantum systems could eventually solve complex mathematical problems far quicker than today’s most powerful supercomputers.

Unlike other quantum computing startups, Quantum Source’s approach involves generating photons, or light particles, which makes its systems more efficient compared to other methods, explained CEO Oded Melamed in an interview.

Using photons allows for the creation of quantum systems that operate at room temperature, unlike other methods that require extremely low temperatures and bulky setups. Smaller, room-temperature systems could be installed in data centers without needing specialized modifications.

“We achieve about four orders of magnitude better efficiency compared to other solutions,” Melamed noted. “This leads to a more compact machine that can fit into a standard server unit, without needing unique infrastructure.”

Founded in 2021 by industry veterans Oded Melamed, Gil Semo, Dan Charash, and Professor Barak Dayan, Quantum Source has focused on overcoming key challenges in photonic quantum computing. Their approach uses single atoms on a proprietary photonic chip to enable precise photon generation and entanglement, resulting in significantly better efficiency. With 45 employees, the company is based near Tel Aviv.

“This round is a vote of confidence in our approach to making scalable, useful quantum computing a reality, and a testament to the broader opportunity in quantum computing,” said Oded Melamed, Co-Founder and CEO of Quantum Source. “Our game-changing approach, which combines photonic and atomic qubits, will propel quantum computing further toward commercialization, by making large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers available to corporations at a practical cost.”