Anika Begay
Quantum computing may still be largely in the theoretical realm, but the money it’s attracting is very real. Riverlane, a specialist in quantum error-correction technology, has raised $75 million to continue expanding its R&D and operations to build out its operations amid a wave of interest from quantum computing customers, technologists working to build what could be the next great leap in computing power, if only they can tame those failure rates.
Riverlane believes it has the answer to this problem: the startup is developing technology that fits on the chips used in quantum computing systems and can track, predict, and correct errors generated by quantum bits (known as qubits).
“Even five years ago, I would have said that only one of these types of qubits would work,” Steve Brierly, founder and CEO of Riverlane, said in an interview at his Cambridge office. “But in fact, what we’ve seen is that they’ve all progressed. [along a] Moore’s Law rate. I think the pieces are in place to get to the first generation of error-correcting quantum computers. And that will be really significant because it will be the first time a quantum computer will go beyond the capabilities of any supercomputer.”
Sources close to the company tell TechCrunch that this round now values Cambridge, England-based Riverlane at more than $400 million.
And for a company that is working to break new ground in a cutting-edge field, this fundraise has achieved another first: it is the first quantum computing startup in Europe to raise a Series C funding.
This in itself is a sign that while quantum computing specialists are still working to scale up their models, the industry is moving toward more mature, growth-oriented funding, driven by confidence and commitment that this will happen.
A trio of self-described sustainability-focused investors are stepping up as first-time backers of the startup in this round. Planet First Partners is leading the Series C, with participation from ETF Partners and EDBI of Singapore. Previous backers Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), Amadeus Capital Partners, the U.K.’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and Altair also invested.
Quantum computing efforts are somewhat of a leap into the unknown, as much of the concept has only been proven in smaller-scale efforts. Founded by Brierly while he was still a researcher at Cambridge, where he was studying how to solve the error rate problem, Riverlane is an integral part of that continuum.
But visiting the startup’s offices in Cambridge, there are clear signs that the business is gradually moving from concept to production. The company has built an operations center where it remotely connects with early quantum computers before embedding the chips into physical systems.
Riverlane is focused on a product called Deltaflow, a combination of QEC chips and hardware, as well as software, that it says will be able to correct billions of errors per second.
According to the company, if used in a system today, this technology would represent a huge leap forward for current quantum computing efforts, which can typically perform a few hundred operations before failing due to error rates.
The idea is that using error-correcting technologies like Deltaflow could improve operations enough to run millions, and eventually trillions of them. This would in turn make quantum computers viable for computing and working on the thorniest and most complex problems in industries like pharmaceuticals, transportation, chemistry, and more (perhaps even in AI applications).
The company’s vision (which is still a vision, even with more than 100 engineers and other specialists (it’s now hiring more) and a few customers) is outlined in a quantum error correction (QEC) roadmap released in July, which lays out the company’s plans for future products.
Riverlane does not disclose the full list of its clients, but says it includes Rigetti Computing, Alice & Bob, QuEra Computing, Infleqtion, Atlantic Quantum, and Oakridge National Lab in the US and the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in the UK.
“We invest in companies with the potential to have a transformative impact on society and the environment,” said Nathan Medlock, managing partner of Planet First Partners, in a statement. “Riverlane’s focus on quantum error correction, combined with its collaboration with quantum computer manufacturers around the world, has the potential to accelerate the global market and enable new quantum computing applications that can substantially help solve social and environmental problems.”
