Google-Backed QuEra Raises $230 Million to Accelerate Development of Quantum Computers

QuEra Computing raised $230 million in a funding round to accelerate its development of quantum computers.

Sixty million dollars of the $230 million is contingent on the company satisfying a prerequisite funding condition, which is currently in progress, QuEra said in a Tuesday (Feb. 11) press release.

QuEra will use the new funding to accelerate its development of fault-tolerant quantum computing technology, which enables computing systems to continue functioning correctly even in the presence of errors or faults, according to the release.

The company will also use the funding to add technical and scientific talent to its team, strengthen its build and test capacity, and expand its application co-design, cloud and on-premises engagements with research organizations, Fortune 500 companies and government programs, per the release.

“This funding structure, coupled with our growing organic revenue stream, provides flexibility as we hit our development targets and scale production and provides the company with a very long financial runway over the next several years,” QuEra CFO Ed Durkin said in the release.

New investors participating in this funding round include Google, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Valor Equity Partners, according to the release.

“We believe quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize industries, and QuEra is at the forefront of making this technology accessible and transformative,” SoftBank Investment Advisers Managing Partner Kentaro Matsui said in the release. “We are excited to support QuEra as it pioneers the next generation of computation, unlocking new possibilities in AI and beyond.”

This year will see a shift in the quantum computing conversation from whether the technology can achieve transformative impact to when it will cross key milestones, QuEra wrote in a Jan. 28 blog post.

“This confidence shift will be driven by incremental but steady advances in quantum hardware, algorithmic improvements, and early application successes in fields like drug discovery and optimization,” the company wrote in the post.

Quantum computers will be able to efficiently solve mathematical problems that would have previously taken billions of years of computing time, PYMNTS reported in April.

It was reported Wednesday (Feb. 5) that Google is optimistic that it will release commercial quantum computing applications within five years — which would be sooner than the several years to two decades often predicted by investors and experts.