QuantWare raises $178M to build quantum processors at industrial scale
What's the deal? QuantWare, a Dutch quantum computing chip company, has raised €152M ($178M) in a Series B round led by Intel Capital and Dutch investment firm Forward.oneDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. In-Q-Tel, the CIADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s venture fund, also participated, alongside ETF PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and several Dutch funds.
The company was founded in 2021 as a spinout of QuTechDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a quantum research institute co-funded by Intel and Delft University of TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
QuantWare designs and manufactures superconducting quantum processors — the chips that power quantum computers. Its new 10,000-qubit system, planned for commercial availability in 2028 at €50M per unit, represents a claimed ten-fold reduction in cost per qubit compared to current systems.
Today's most advanced quantum machines operate at just over 100 qubits. The company has more than 50 customers and plans to open a dedicated manufacturing facility near its Delft headquarters by the end of 2026.
Why now? Quantum computing is approaching what its proponents describe as an inflection point — not yet displacing classical computing, but getting close enough to real-world utility that industrial-scale manufacturing is becoming the critical bottleneck.
QuantWare's chief executive Matt RijlaarsdamDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → argues the field is replicating the early decades of the semiconductor industry, when rapid cost reduction and scaling unlocked entirely new categories of application.
Intel's involvement is significant on two levels. Its venture arm is leading the round, and QuantWare is a spinout of QuTech — a research institute Intel has funded since 2015. The investment signals Intel is doubling down on quantum hardware at a moment when it has stepped back from its own internal quantum programme.
What could go wrong? No quantum computing company has yet deployed machinery that meaningfully replaces conventional silicon-based computing at scale.
As quantum machines grow larger, error rates tend to increase — a fundamental engineering challenge that has not been solved. QuantWare's 10,000-qubit system is not expected until 2028, and the gap between laboratory demonstration and reliable commercial operation remains enormous.
The €50M price tag per system also limits the addressable market to a small number of well-capitalised research institutions, national laboratories, and large enterprises — a narrow base on which to build a scalable business.
The signal: QuantWare's raise is the largest private round ever for a dedicated quantum processor company, and its investor base — Intel Capital, In-Q-Tel, and several European deep tech funds — reflects both the commercial and strategic importance now being attached to quantum hardware.
The CIA's venture arm backing a Dutch quantum chip company is a pointed signal about where Western governments believe the national security implications of quantum computing are heading.
The broader quantum ecosystem is also consolidating around hardware. Nvidiarecently introduced a system to connect quantum machines to its AI chips, and Intel chief executive Lip-Bu TanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined the board of PsiQuantum in May 2026. The race to own the quantum hardware layer is accelerating.
Sources:
QuantWare
Bloomberg
Reuters
Business Wire
EU Startups
The Quantum Insider
Tech Funding News
IO Plus
Finsmes
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