Israel-based quantum computing development framework creator Classiq has attracted $10.5m in a series A round featuring In Venture, a corporate venturing unit for conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Venture capital firm Wing Capital co-led the round with cybersecurity research lab and startup foundry Team8 Capital, investing with equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd and Entrée Capital, the VC firm that led Classiq’s $4m seed round in July 2020.
Classiq is working on a programming environment for quantum computers: machines built to outperform existing supercomputers by using quantum-physical information stores known as qubits.
Expertise in quantum logic gates is recommended before using Classiq’s technology, though the interface is intended to eventually be accessible for less-specialised software developers.
The platform builds on an existing coding framework called Python, which is available under an open-source licence and used for applications including artificial intelligence.
The fresh capital will be used to hire more engineers, boosting the startup’s headcount to about 25. It had previously participated in Intel Ignite, an Israel-focused accelerator launched by semiconductor producer Intel.