Dutch quantum hardware company QuantWare has closed a $178 million Series B — one of the largest private rounds ever for a dedicated quantum processor company — with Intel Capital and In-Q-Tel (IQT), the CIA’s venture arm, joining as new investors.
The Delft-based startup, a spin-out from QuTech and TU Delft, designs and manufactures quantum processing units (QPUs) and has already shipped to more than 50 customers across 20 countries, making it the largest commercial QPU supplier by volume.
The Scaling Problem
For nearly a decade, quantum computing has been stuck on a critical bottleneck: scaling beyond roughly 100 qubits. The wiring, packaging, and manufacturability challenges of packing more quantum bits onto a single chip have proven stubbornly difficult to solve.
QuantWare’s answer is VIO-40K, a 3D architecture they unveiled last December that enables 10,000-qubit superconducting processors — roughly 100 times larger than current state-of-the-art. Instead of trying to build one giant chip, VIO uses modular chiplets that can be fabricated separately and assembled together, bypassing the traditional scaling limits.
“In superconducting quantum computing, scale is increasingly constrained by routing, packaging, and manufacturability — not just qubit design,” said Kike Miralles, investment director at Intel Capital. “QuantWare recognized that early and built VIO to address it.”
A Foundry Model for Quantum
Unlike IBM or Google, which build quantum processors exclusively for their own computers, QuantWare operates as a neutral supplier. Their open architecture model allows other companies to design their own qubit chips and have them manufactured on QuantWare’s platform.
This positioning mirrors the fabless semiconductor model that reshaped classical computing. Rather than competing with its own customers, QuantWare aims to become the TSMC of quantum — a specialized foundry that serves the entire ecosystem.
“Our mission is to get the entire industry to scale using VIO,” said CEO Matt Rijlaarsdam. “We offer it to players that make their own qubit designs, and even to players that make their own qubit chips.”
KiloFab: From Lab to Factory
The fresh capital will fund “KiloFab,” a dedicated fabrication facility designed to increase production capacity twentyfold. This marks a critical transition for quantum computing: moving from university lab-scale production to industrial manufacturing.
“The promise of quantum computing can only happen once it can be manufactured and deployed at scale,” Rijlaarsdam said. “That is exactly what we are building.”
The decision to build KiloFab in the Netherlands is significant. It keeps critical quantum manufacturing within Europe, backed by national funds including Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund and InnovationQuarter Capital. For European quantum ambitions, this represents a concrete step toward supply chain sovereignty.
Why This Matters for Startup Founders
Three takeaways from QuantWare’s raise:
1. The bottleneck is manufacturing, not science. The biggest challenges in quantum right now are engineering problems — wiring, packaging, cooling, yield. Founders should look for opportunities in the enabling layer, not just the headline tech.
2. Open architecture wins in complex hardware. By choosing to be a supplier rather than a full-stack competitor, QuantWare taps into demand from dozens of research labs and companies that would otherwise have no QPU supply chain. A rising tide lifts all boats — and the boat builder often wins.
3. Deep tech can attract global capital. Despite being a European deep tech play, QuantWare raised from Intel Capital, IQT, and ETF Partners. “If you’re building a company that is making excellent progress, with the right technology, team, and customers, you can attract global capital,” Rijlaarsdam said.
Whether or not VIO-40K delivers on its 10,000-qubit promise by 2028, QuantWare’s bet on manufacturability over raw qubit count reflects a maturing industry. The quantum future won’t be won in a lab — it will be built in a factory.
Source: Global Venturing and Tech Funding News
