We are delighted to share that Universal Quantum, the company building large-scale quantum computing systems for real-world use, has secured over $100 million in Series A funding. This is the largest Series A ever raised by a quantum firm headquartered in the UK. Nauta is proud to be investing again in the round alongside a global syndicate of sovereign, institutional, deep tech and quantum-specialist investors.

The round was co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures, with participation from EDBI, Artal, Integral GlobalTech, Main Sequence, Hostplus, NGS Super, IAG Capital, EdenBase, Full Disclosure, Dave Baszucki (founder and CEO of Roblox), and Nauta.

Our relationship with Universal Quantum goes back to 2018, when Dr Sebastian Weidt spoke at our Investor Day on whether quantum computing was the next revolution. Seb and Universal Quantum were not part of our portfolio at that point, but we at Nauta were already very much tracking the industry. That was shortly before he and Professor Winfried Hensinger of the University of Sussex founded Universal Quantum, building on the first practical blueprint for a large-scale trapped-ion quantum computer, which they co-authored in 2017.

We subsequently participated in their pre-seed round from our deep tech programme, Nauta Labs. During our latest Investor Day, in May 2026, Seb returned to speak to our LPs once again (pictured) but now as a CEO/founder within our portfolio and on the verge of closing a $100M+ Series A. This time with Nauta already committed to invest again and with many of our LPs getting the incredible opportunity to invest directly via a dedicated SPV.

“Universal Quantum’s progress reflects our partners’ belief that we represent one of the most credible paths to quantum computing at scale,” said Seb, CEO and co-founder of Universal Quantum. “This round unites an extraordinary group of investors from the world’s most important pools of capital around a single mission: delivering utility-scale quantum computing.”

Solving the problem of scale

Universal Quantum was founded on the belief that scale is the major challenge in quantum computing. Rather than trying to build one very large processor, its computers are designed and built by linking together, or tiling, many small, advanced quantum chips to deliver the overall high-quality qubit count required to solve problems classical computers cannot. Crucially, this is done without reliance on photonic interconnects or large, costly lasers and cooling infrastructure. One of the biggest issues in the industry is the intensive capital expenditure needed in cooling facilities as machines evolve. Universal Quantum has solved this and aims at achieving all operations at room temperature.

Each chip uses trapped-ion technology, where charged atoms held in place by electric fields act as qubits. Universal Quantum’s approach is designed to connect these modules in a practical, manufacturable way, creating a route to the scale needed for fault-tolerant quantum computing and giving industry partners a clearer path to quantum utility. The new capital will drive the development and commercialisation of this modular approach, leveraging the company’s patented, world-record interconnect technology and advanced integrated chips to develop the chiplet arrays and control systems needed to reduce engineering risk and accelerate the path to larger-scale quantum computers.

The opportunity is significant. Analysts forecast that the quantum technology market could be worth $60 to 100 billion annually by 2035, while helping to unlock up to $2.7 trillion of economic value worldwide in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, finance and automotive.

From academic vision to global business

What began as an academic vision has since become a global engineering operation, with sites across three continents and more than 100 highly technical FTEs. Universal Quantum is currently delivering against a $77 million contract with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and has built a paying customer base that includes some of the world’s most demanding scientific and government institutions, something few in the sector have achieved at this stage of development. As Bill Bartee, Managing Partner at Main Sequence, put it, the company has done this “before most competitors have shipped any working hardware.”

The funding will also support Universal Quantum’s recently announced expansion in Singapore, where it is establishing its first R&D centre outside Europe, as well as expansion in the United States, Japan and its German hub in Hamburg, with further international collaborations to be announced soon.

Seb’s journey is a perfect representation of why we launched Nauta Labs, our initiative to back incredible deep tech entrepreneurs like Seb at pre-seed stage. Congratulations to Seb, Winfried and the whole Universal Quantum team, and we look forward to supporting them through the next chapter.