Sussex University spin-out Universal Quantum raises over $100m to pursue a ‘Quantum Silicon Valley’

Firgun Ventures and DCVC co-led the Series A round, which will fund quantum computing development and global expansion while supporting ambitions for a Sussex and Brighton technology hub

Universal Quantum’s funding will support the development and commercialization of quantum technology based on University of Sussex research.

Universal Quantum, a University of Sussex spin-out, has secured more than $100 million to develop and commercialize its modular quantum computing technology. The university describes the funding as the largest Series A round raised by a UK quantum company and a record investment for one of its spin-outs.

The company aims to build larger, error-correcting quantum computers capable of tackling problems beyond today’s machines. Potential applications include drug discovery, advanced materials and more efficient energy systems, although these remain goals for the technology rather than outcomes demonstrated by the funding announcement.

Firgun Ventures and DCVC co-led the round. Participants include EDBI, Invus, Integral GlobalTech, Main Sequence, Hostplus, NGS Super, IAG Capital, EdenBase, Full Disclosure and Roblox Founder and CEO Dave Baszucki, alongside Nauta Capital, The Venture Collective and other investors.

From a Sussex research blueprint to a global business

Universal Quantum grew out of research by Professor Winfried Hensinger and Dr Sebastian Weidt at the Sussex Centre for Quantum Technologies. The co-founders helped author a practical blueprint for a large-scale trapped-ion quantum computer, published in 2017.

The business now employs more than 100 people and operates across three continents. The new capital will support its global expansion alongside further development of the technology.

Weidt, Universal Quantum’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer and Professor of Quantum Computing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Sussex, says: “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.”

The university presents the investment as an example of academic research developing into a commercial engineering operation. In its LinkedIn announcement, it stated: “The technology at the heart of this news is based on pioneering research undertaken at the University of Sussex.”

A regional ambition beyond the funding round

Universal Quantum has also been involved in plans for a “Quantum Silicon Valley” in Sussex and Brighton, intended to attract technology businesses, investment and skilled workers.

Professor Sasha Roseneil, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sussex, says: “This investment brings that vision significantly closer and has the potential to generate highly skilled, high-value jobs, to attract further investment and to strengthen the region's reputation as a hub for quantum technology.”