OQC (Oxford Quantum Circuits) today announced it has closed an oversubscribed £260 million ($350m) Series C funding round, Europe’s largest private funding round to date for a quantum computing company.
Bullhound Capital led the round, which included investment from the British Business Bank, Fynveur (advised by Invus), COFIDES, RCM Private Markets Fund managed by Rokos Capital Management (US) LP, Alpha Edison, Fulcrum Asset Management, Pentland Ventures, Magdalen College Oxford, Adaptive Capital Partners, Firgun Ventures, 18 West and Oxford Capital. Existing investors including Oxford Science Enterprises, SBI, Chevron Technology Ventures, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners Co. and OTIF Ventures also participated, with J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive placement agent on the transaction.
Founded in the UK, OQC develops and operates superconducting quantum computers designed for deployment in data-centre environments serving enterprise and government customers. The company has deployed its systems in the UK, US, Japan and Spain. The company says that enterprise and government customers across financial services, defence and security are driving demand for its systems as they seek solutions to problems beyond the practical reach of classical computing. The funding will be used to expand OQC’s operational presence in priority markets and accelerate its roadmap toward commercially useful, fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Gerald Mullally, CEO of OQC, said: “This is a coming-of-age moment for British quantum computing. It shows that British companies can play a leading role in a technology that will shape all our futures. Globally, it represents a clear shift in the market – from long-term promise to near-term delivery in quantum computing. For OQC, this gives us the capital to scale internationally, advance our technology roadmap, and meet increasing demand from customers seeking secure, scalable access to quantum computing infrastructure.”
Per Roman, Founding Partner of Bullhound Capital, who is joining the board of OQC said: “OQC is building one of the most compelling quantum computing platforms globally, with the technology, infrastructure and customer focus required to scale. As quantum computing moves into global infrastructure, OQC is positioned to shape that transition. We are pleased to lead this round and support the company’s next phase of growth.”
