Helsinki-based Arctic Instruments, a spinout of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, announced on Tuesday that it has secured €2.35M in a funding round led by Lifeline Ventures.
The Finnish company will use the capital to fund the research, development, and commercialisation of its superconducting microwave amplifier technology.
The company’s ability to manufacture near-quantum-limited amplifiers consistently and in volume is critical for enabling the construction of large-scale quantum computers with accurate qubit state readout.
What does Arctic Instruments solve?
Current quantum computers typically have around 100 qubits and require 10 to 20 amplifiers for measuring the qubit states.
To boost computing power, there is a need to increase the number of qubits, which means more amplifiers.
For a quantum computer with 10,000 qubits, thousands of high-quality amplifiers will be necessary.
“Near-quantum-limited” amplifiers add very little noise to measurements, as allowed by the laws of physics.
Here’s where Arctic Instruments comes into play!
Led by Joonas Govenius, Arctic Instruments manufactures near-quantum-limited amplifiers consistently and in volume, which is critical for enabling the construction of large-scale quantum computers with accurate qubit state readout.
“We have reached a level of maturity where our capability to fabricate and test our amplifiers in volume is industry leading. In the bigger picture, the development of quantum computers remains very much a challenge, and their potential applications also remain an active topic of research. What is clear is the need to scale up, without compromising the quality of any of the critical components,” says Joonas Govenius, CEO and Co-founder of Arctic Instruments.
“We contribute to this effort by constantly improving the quality and consistency of our near-quantum-limited amplifiers, which are key to accurate qubit state measurements. The dedicated company and funding allows us to boost our development efforts significantly,” adds Govenius.
The founding team of Arctic Instruments consists of seasoned scientists with ample experience in superconducting circuit research.
The company is a spinoff of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, a state-owned research and development organisation.
The investor
Lifeline Ventures is one of Finland’s biggest VCs, known for identifying and supporting potential category leaders in their early stages.
“Arctic Instruments is a competent team that has been able to create a product that solves one of quantum computing’s most critical challenges. The product is based on several years of research. It is very difficult to produce a component that is accurate and reliable at the same time, and works today,” says Timo Ahopelto, founding partner at Lifeline Ventures.
“VTT has invested in the research and development of superconducting and quantum technologies for several decades. Our goal is to make these results available to companies, and spin-off companies are one important way to do this. Arctic Instruments is a great example of how results of long-term top research are commercialised and scaled up into a global business,” says Tauno Vähä-Heikkilä, Vice President of Microelectronics and Quantum Technology.
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