Oxford Quantum Circuits raises $350M Series C, Europe's largest quantum computing round
What's the deal? Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a UK scaleup that builds and deploys quantum computers, has raised a £260M ($350M) Series C — the largest funding round ever by a private quantum computing company in Europe.
Bullhound CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → led the round, with participation from the British Business Bank, European investors FynveurDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, CofidesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Fulcrum Asset Management, Pentland VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Magdalen College Oxford, Oxford Capital, and Firgun. US firms Alpha EdisonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and 18 West, plus Singapore's Adaptive Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, also joined.
OQC builds quantum computers using superconducting qubits — the same approach used by IBM and Google. Rather than selling machines outright, it deploys quantum systems inside partner data centres run by Equinix and Digital Realty, letting customers buy compute time via the cloud or on-premises access. "Customers buy time on our quantum computer, rather than buying a quantum computer," says CEO Gerald Mullally.
The company has systems running in London, Tokyo, and New York, with two more sites on the way. It has also sold one system directly to Spanish supercomputing centre CESGA.
Why now? This is the fourth quantum megaround ($100M+) in Europe since the start of 2026, already surpassing the three announced across all of 2025. Quantum computing is shedding its reputation as a niche, unproven technology. Companies in the space now promise near-term business value, drawing enterprise and government customers — particularly in finance, defence, and security.
OQC's data-centre model appeals to regulated industries that need their data stored securely. The Series C will fund geographic expansion and a next-generation system that Mullally says "moves us into the commercial era of quantum."
What could go wrong? OQC's most advanced machine has just 32 qubits — far short of the millions needed for fully fledged real-world applications. The company declined to share revenue figures, and most customers are still at the testing stage. Quantum computing has a long history of overpromising on timelines, and commercial viability remains unproven at scale.
Competition is fierce. Finnish rival IQM recently announced plans to list on Nasdaq at a $1.8B valuation, while Quantinuum raised $600M in 2025. Tech giants IBM and Google continue to pour resources into the same superconducting-qubit approach.
The signal: OQC's leap to late growth stage, backed by a mix of sovereign capital from the British Business Bank and transatlantic private investors, underscores how quantum is becoming a geopolitical infrastructure bet, not just a deep-tech wager. With Bullhound Capital — an investment bank-turned-fund better known for software and digital media deals — leading the round, the investor profile itself signals that quantum is crossing over from specialist science funds into mainstream growth capital.
Read more: Sifted
