Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) has secured £900,000 in a funding round to support research and development and accelerate its expansion into the Asia Pacific region, with a focus on Japan.
The funding round was led by Quantum Exponential Group PLC, which invested £299,997, and also included participation from Japanese private equity firm HiJoJo Partners.
This expansion into Japan comes as the demand for quantum computers increases across multiple industries, including financial services and pharmaceuticals.
OQC specializes in designing unique superconducting circuits and recently raised £38mln as part of a Series A funding round, the largest ever Series A in quantum computing in the UK.
The key challenge of superconducting circuits for quantum computation is to scale the number of qubits while maintaining qubit quality and control to reach a commercially useful level of processing power. OQC's patented 3D architecture, the Coaxmon, solves this challenge by offering scalability and world-class performance.
In February 2022, OQC became the first European company to be featured on Amazon Web Services (AWS), following the launch of its latest system, Lucy. AWS is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, and millions of customers are using it to lower costs, become more agile and innovate faster.
Commenting on the investment, CEO of Quantum Exponential Group, Steven Metcalfe, said: "We are committed to providing our shareholders with access to quantum technology companies that are at the forefront of this revolutionary technology. OQC's achievements, driven by its excellent team, are nothing short of astounding.
"We are absolutely delighted to have participated in the second funding round and look forward to following the company's progress as it expands into Asia."
With this latest funding, OQC is poised to continue its growth in the rapidly evolving field of quantum computing and further establish itself as a leader in the industry.