Seed5 October 2020

Nu Quantum raises £2.1m in Seed funding led by Amadeus Capital Partners to accelerate commercialisation.

Amadeus Capital Partners led the Seed round, with backing from Ahren Innovation Capital, IQ Capital, Cambridge Enterprise, Martlet Capital, and Seraphim Capital, to fund new labs and recruitment.

£2.1MSeed

Nu Quantum is a Cambridge-based quantum networking company developing hardware solutions to interconnect quantum processing units. The firm builds scalable optical systems designed to link smaller processor cores and accelerate the path toward large-scale quantum computers.

Nu Quantum has raised £2.1m in Seed funding led by Amadeus Capital Partners to advance its quantum photonics technology. The round included participation from new backer Seraphim Capital alongside returning investors Ahren Innovation Capital, IQ Capital, Cambridge Enterprise, and Martlet Capital.

The capital will be directed towards establishing a state-of-the-art photonics laboratory in Cambridge and expanding the workforce ahead of the company's first commercial technology demonstration. Spun out of the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, the firm builds high-performance light-emitting and light-detecting components operating at the single-photon level.

The business is preparing to launch its initial commercial deliverable, which combines quantum photonic technology and proprietary algorithms to generate cryptographic keys from quantum effects. Nu Quantum is also participating in a National Physical Laboratory consortium tasked with setting the UK standard for quantum random number generation.

From the founder

"Our aim is to enable the potential of quantum mechanics using quantum photonics hardware. This funding will allow us to do just that – a world-class multidisciplinary team and our new laboratories will give Nu Quantum the ability to deliver meaningful demonstrations of our technology into the hands of customers and partners for the first time."

Carmen Palacios-Berraquero

CEO at Nu Quantum

Investor perspective

"Quantum photonics has the potential to transform cyber security through digital cryptography. We’re making another investment in Nu Quantum because we believe in the team and its ability to take its solutions to market. Cambridge is leading the world on developing and commercialising quantum computing hardware and applications, and Amadeus is excited to be backing great entrepreneurs here."

Alex van Someren

Managing Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners