Micro-robots, carbon nanotubes and an underground factory: Quantum startup C12 raises €18m
Summary
Paris-based quantum computing startup C12 has raised an 18m equity funding round to continue developing the technology behind its quantum processors and to develop more commercial partnerships with industrial customers.It brings the companys total funding to nearly 30m after it raised a 9m seed round in 2021.The investment was led by French VC Varsity Capital, UK firm Verve Ventures and the EIC Fund. Just in France, C12 is facing competition from better-funded companies like Pasqal, Quandela and Alice&Bob.There are different ways to approach the challenge, typically by using different types of qubits the small particles inside quantum processors that are the equivalent of a bit in classical computers, and which carry quantum information. Desjardins says that this comes close to recreating a vacuum, and ensures that qubits are protected against outside noise.If demonstrated at scale, this could be a big advantage given that qubits high instability and frequent errors are one of the key challenges holding back the development of large-scale quantum computers.At the end of 2023, C12 opened a 1k-square-metre underground quantum fab in Paris to start producing quantum processors.This is where the startup manufactures conventional semiconductors and grows carbon nanotubes a process in which a single carbon layer is fabricated by depositing, one after the other, each individual carbon atom. Our head of growth doesnt have exactly the same role here as in other startups, says Desjardins.The components are then assembled by micro-robots in a vacuum chamber.Its the equivalent of placing a hair on a surface the size of Paris, says Desjardins.C12 is producing one processor a week, each carrying one to two qubits.It doesnt seem much compared to the 200-qubit computer that Pasqal produces, but Desjardins isnt worried.Were convinced that we need much better qubits, so for now we are working on our fundamental technology, he says.The founder adds that since spin qubits are trapped on conventional semiconductors, the infrastructure is already in place to scale rapidly, contrary to other approaches.In practice, it is not yet clear that semiconductor manufacturers will be able to seamlessly integrate the production of quantum processors into their existing processes.There have recently been encouraging indicators, however, with Australian spin qubit startup Diraq announcing last week that it has signed a manufacturing partnership with US semiconductor producer GlobalFoundries.Desjardins says that C12s manufacturing process, in which quantum components the carbon nanotubes are added at the last stage of semiconductor fabrication, is more likely to be compatible with chip makers existing production lines.What will the funds be used for?Desjardins says that the latest injection of cash will largely fund the acceleration of R&D to improve C12s quantum processors.Specifically, the goal is to achieve a new technological development related to entanglement a phenomenon that underpins quantum computing, in which two qubits become connected and share a single quantum state, even if they are at a distance from one another.C12 says that currently, with other quantum computing approaches, qubits can only become entangled with the qubit that it is nearest to physically. The company is working on enabling entanglement between two distant qubits, within a single chip.Desjardins says that this allows for better connectivity between qubits meaning that fewer qubits will be necessary to run computations.Without this approach, we think it is impossible to scale quantum computers, says Desjardins.The objective of this fundraise is to achieve, for the first time, this quantum operation between two distant qubits.C12 will also focus on securing more partnerships with industrial customers who are interested in exploring ways to apply quantum technology to use cases within their business.This is a strategy being adopted by other quantum computing startups: Pasqal has partnered with pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and French bank Cr\xe9dit Agricole, while Quandela works with energy company EDF.Desjardins says that C12 is already working with a few selected partners in France in the energy and chemistry sectors, such as French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide, and that it hopes to further expand its customer base.With the technology in such early stages, it is still an exploratory stage for these customers.