Stuttgart-based Q.ANT has announced a €62M Series A funding round. The scale-up focuses on photonic quantum technologies in computing and sensing.
The round was co-led by Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, and imec.xpand, with participation from investors including L-Bank, Verve Ventures, Grazia Equity, EXF Alpha of Venionaire Capital, LEA Partners, Onsight Ventures, and TRUMPF.
Cyril Vancura, Partner at imec.xpand, says, “Classical CMOS processors are approaching their physical and architectural limits – where further gains through parallelisation and smaller structures yield only marginal improvements. In contrast, photonic computing represents a fundamentally new paradigm with immense, largely untapped scaling potential. Q.ANT has solved the core challenges of this technology and is well-positioned to define the future of high-performance computing.”
Q.ANT reports in a statement that the investment is among the largest deeptech funding rounds in Europe.
Developing photonic quantum technologies
Global AI growth is pushing traditional chip technology to its limits, with rising energy demands. The International Energy Agency projects that data centre energy use could exceed the total annual consumption of Japan by 2026. Q.ANT is responding by developing light-based computing to reduce energy use and improve performance.
The company was founded by Michael Förtsch in 2018 as a spin-off from TRUMPF. Q.ANT is a photonic deeptech scale-up developing light-based processing solutions as an alternative to transistor-based systems.
Its Light Empowered Native Arithmetics (LENA) architecture enables analogue co-processing for AI and high-performance computing. The company operates its own Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) chip pilot line with IMS CHIPS and is shipping Native Processing Servers to selected partners.
In five years, Q.ANT has developed the first commercial photonic processor designed for AI and high-performance computing workloads. The processor, built using TFLN, is delivered through the Q.ANT Native Processing Server and functions as a plug-in co-processor for existing data centres.
Real-world tests indicate up to 30 times greater energy efficiency, 50 times increased performance, and the potential for 100 times higher data centre capacity, without requiring active cooling systems.
Q.ANT claims to be the first photonic processing company to combine this level of processing, accuracy, and integration into a single sustainable solution.
Founder Dr. Förtsch says, “Q.ANT was founded with a bold vision: to redefine the way the world computes by using light instead of electricity. This investment proves that Europe has both the ambition and the capital to lead – and gives us the strong partners we need to pursue our mission and help shape the future of computing.
Capital utilisation
Q.ANT will use the funds to scale its production capabilities, accelerate the development of next-generation photonic processors, and expand its workforce across key technical and operational functions.
The capital will also support Q.ANT’s geographic expansion into the US to meet rising customer demand and deployment needs.
As part of its growth strategy, Q.ANT has strengthened its advisory board with semiconductor experts Hermann Hauser and Hermann Eul, whose experience in scaling, industrial operations, and international market development will support the company’s next phase.
Christian Meermann, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures, says, “Q.ANT’s photonic chips stand to radically reduce data centre operating costs while delivering the breakthrough performance demanded by next-generation AI and high-performance computing. With early commercial momentum and a world-class team of deep tech experts, Q.ANT is uniquely positioned to redefine the trillion-dollar data centre semiconductor landscape. We’re proud to back them in building the future of computing.”
By 2030, Q.ANT aims to make its photonic processing technology a core part of global AI infrastructure, focusing on scalability and energy efficiency. It’s Photonic Native Processing Server (NPS), now available for early access, integrates with existing AI software and programming languages. The NPS reduces energy use, eliminates on-chip heat, and increases compute density, supporting a shift toward high-performance, sustainable computing.
