Cambridge-based Riverlane, a quantum engineering company, announced on Tuesday, August 6, that it has raised $75M (approximately €68.7M) in a Series C funding round led by Planet First Partners, the European growth equity sustainable investment platform.
This is the first-ever Series C investment for a quantum computing company in Europe, claims the company.
Other investors, including ETF Partners, EDBI, as well as existing investors Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), Amadeus Capital Partners, the UK’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and HPC leader Altair, also participated in the Series C round.
The funding will enable Riverlane to expand operations to meet surging global market demand for QEC technology to achieve one million error-free quantum computer operations by 2026.
As a result, the expansion of Riverlane’s operations will introduce various new opportunities across the company, such as hardware and software engineering, quantum scientist positions, and operations roles.
The announcement comes four months after raising £15M (approximately €16.98M) in a Series B round of funding.
What does Riverlane solve?
Demand for quantum error correction technology has grown dramatically over the past year.
Due to a series of technical breakthroughs, improvements in qubit quality, and a global shift towards building error-corrected quantum systems, the quantum computing industry is now looking beyond today’s small, error-prone machines to a new generation of ‘fault-tolerant’ quantum computers with integrated QEC technology.
Riverlane’s Founder & CEO, Steve Brierley, says, “Quantum error correction is the critical enabler for the industry’s next huge wave of progress, from today’s small error-prone machines to large and reliable quantum computers that will start a new age of human progress as significant as the digital revolution. Our partners recognise the value in working with Riverlane to deliver a solution that fits their needs – we are building the right product at the right time to seize this opportunity.”
Riverlane: Building fault-tolerant quantum computers
Founded by Steve Brierley, Riverlane has built the world’s largest dedicated quantum error correction team with close to a hundred interdisciplinary experts working on its core product — Deltaflow.
Deltaflow features proprietary QEC chips, hardware, and software technologies that work together to correct billions of errors per second.
While today’s best quantum computers can perform only a few hundred quantum operations before failure, Deltaflow will help this increase to millions and, ultimately, trillions of error-free quantum operations.
The UK company partners with quantum computing companies and government bodies, including Rigetti Computing, Alice & Bob, QuEra Computing, Infleqtion, Atlantic Quantum, and national labs such as Oakridge National Lab in the US and the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NǪCC).
The investor
Planet First Partners is a growth equity platform that invests in and partners with disruptive entrepreneurs to scale tech-enabled businesses that combine a purpose-driven mission, profitable growth, and a people-centric culture.
Nathan Medlock, Managing Partner at Planet First Partners, says, “We invest in companies with the potential to have a transformative impact on society and the environment. Riverlane’s focus on quantum error correction, coupled with its collaboration with quantum computer makers worldwide, can accelerate the global market and enable new quantum computing applications that can substantially contribute to solving social and environmental issues.”
01
Upstream Festival is back for its sixth edition! 4 solid reasons to mark your calendar