Unitary Quantum raises hundreds of millions of yuan in Series A for ion-trap quantum computing
What's the deal? Hefei Unitary Quantum Technology closed a Series A round worth several hundred million yuan on August 3, led by Shenzhen Capital Group. The Chinese startup builds ion-trap quantum computers and is the country's sole firm pursuing the quantum charge-coupled device (QCCD) architecture.
Who's backing it? Shenzhen Capital Group headed the round, joined by the Social Security Fund Bay Area Science and Technology Innovation Equity Investment Fund and Shenzhen Innovation Capital Investment. Follow-on investors included GF Xinde, Jingming CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Puhua Capital, Qifu Capital, Xingtai Capital, Fortune Capital, Huakong Fund, Shoucheng Holdings, GCL Energy TechnologyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Haojun Investment, Kailian Capital, Xinneng Venture Capital, and Zhongwei China.
What's the money for? Proceeds will accelerate research and development targeting quantum advantage and error correction. The company also plans to strengthen its full-stack capabilities on the QCCD ion-trap technology route.
What's the endgame? Founded in July 2022, Unitary Quantum was incubated from Guo Guangcan's team at the University of Science and Technology of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Quantum Information. Founder and chairman Han Yongjian, a USTC researcher and former postdoctoral fellow under Luming Duan, leads a team building modular, scalable ion-trap systems for distributed quantum computing.
The track record: The company delivered its first ion-trap quantum computer in 2024 and achieved domestic firsts in 4K cryogenic chip-trap ion confinement. It reported quantum volume 32 with 12-qubit full connectivity.
The signal: The round underscores continued state-backed capital flowing into China's quantum computing sector, with government funds and the national social security fund anchoring the raise. Unitary Quantum's bet on the QCCD ion-trap route sets it apart from rivals as the country races to build scalable quantum hardware.
Read more: TMTPost
Image credit: Office of Naval Research
