Universal Quantum raises $100 million in record UK Series A round

UK-based quantum computing startup Universal Quantum has raised over $100 million (€89 million) in Series A funding, marking the largest Series A round for a UK quantum firm to date, according to EU-Startups.

The financing round was co-led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm DCVC and London-based Firgun Ventures. Total funding raised by the company now exceeds $125 million, following a €4 million Seed round completed in June 2020.

A range of institutional and individual backers participated in the round, including EDBI, Artal, Integral GlobalTech, Main Sequence, Hostplus, NGS Super, IAG Capital, EdenBase, and Eigenstate Holdings. Other participants included Roblox founder and chief executive officer Dave Baszucki, Nauta Capital, and The Venture Collective.

"Universal Quantum’s progress reflects our partners’ belief that we represent one of the most credible paths to quantum computing at scale," said Dr. Sebastian Weidt, chief executive officer 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."

Spun out from the University of Sussex in 2018 by Weidt and Professor Winfried Hensinger, the startup is headquartered in Haywards Heath and maintains operations in Germany. Universal Quantum builds modular trapped-ion quantum computing hardware. The company plans to use the new capital to commercialise its technology, expand globally, and establish its first international research and development centre in Singapore.

European Quantum Sector Investment

The investment comes amid a broader rise in capital allocated to European quantum computing hardware companies in 2026. Data reported by EU-Startups shows seven comparable European companies raised approximately €714 million this year prior to this deal, pushing total hardware funding in the region past €803 million.

Recent funding rounds in the sector include UK firm Oxford Quantum Circuits raising €301 million, Delft-based QuantWare securing €152 million, and France's Quobly raising €115 million. Among developers using trapped-ion architectures similar to Universal Quantum, Germany's eleQtron raised €57 million and Swiss firm ZuriQ secured €22.4 million. Firgun Ventures also participated in the Oxford Quantum Circuits and ZuriQ financings.

"Having laid some of the earliest foundations for large-scale trapped-ion architectures, Sebastian and Winfried are true pioneers in the field," said Zeynep Korutürk, founding and managing partner of Firgun Ventures. "With Europe under pressure to prove it can compete on frontier technologies, we are proud to invest in a European company that has grown into a global player, one that is well positioned to help define the future of industrial-scale quantum computing."

The company will next use the capital to proceed with establishing its research and development centre in Singapore.