Zürich-based quantum computing startup ZuriQ has secured $25.5 million in seed funding led by Quantonation, with participation from Forward.one, Extantia, and Firgun Ventures. The fresh capital follows the company’s $4.2 million pre-seed round in 2025, as Vestbee was told.
- Established in 2024 by Dr. Pavel Hrmo, Dr. Tobias Sägesser, and Dr. Shreyas Jain, ZuriQ is an ETH Zürich spin-out developing quantum processors designed to overcome the scaling limitations of conventional trapped-ion architectures.
- The company’s technology is based on a two-dimensional approach to trapped-ion computing. While many existing trapped-ion quantum systems rely on ions arranged in one-dimensional chains that require complex junction structures to connect larger systems, ZuriQ uses Penning micro-traps that combine electric and magnetic fields to create native 2D ion arrays.
- This allows ions to move more freely across the chip, enabling more flexible qubit connectivity and supporting the development of larger-scale quantum processors.
- ZuriQ has already demonstrated a working prototype featuring a 3×3 array of nine individually controlled ions, developed in collaboration with researchers at ETH Zürich. The chips were fabricated with manufacturing partner Infineon, demonstrating the potential to produce the architecture using established semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Details of the deal
- With the fresh capital raised, the firm aims to expand its team, accelerate research and development efforts, and scale up chip fabrication to increase the number of qubits its two-dimensional trapped-ion architecture can support, paving the way for commercially useful quantum computers.
