Full Breakdown
Europe’s Sovereign-Backed Quantum Hardware Bet: Quantum Motion’s $160 M Series C
5/8/2026, 12:07:03 PM
Series C
On 7 May 2026, Quantum Motion closed a $160 million Series C. Co-lead investors were Kembara and DCVC; participants included the British Business Bank, Firgun Ventures, Bosch Ventures, Porsche SE and others. The funding will expand silicon-CMOS quantum processors toward million-qubit machines.
Background
European quantum policy has relied on grants like the EU Quantum Flagship’s €1 billion pledge. Kembara’s equity stake is the first sovereign-backed venture investment in a quantum hardware firm, marking a shift to market-oriented financing and a bid to keep Europe competitive with the US and China in secure communications, drug discovery and climate modelling.
Investors
Founded in 2017 by UCL professor John Morton and Oxford professor Simon Benjamin, Quantum Motion employs over 100 staff in the UK, US, Australia and Spain. It uses 300 mm silicon CMOS—the same process as smartphones—to build spin-qubit arrays. Prior funding includes a £42 million Series B in 2023 and £62 million in equity and grants, and the company was selected for Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.
Statements
Firgun Ventures co-founder Dr Kris Naudts said scaling quantum computers is essential for breakthroughs in secure communications, healthcare and climate science. Kembara stressed its mandate to fund infrastructure-layer technologies that private capital underweights. British Business Bank called the co-investment a sovereign effort to prevent Europe from ceding strategic ground. D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz said Europe is playing an important role in quantum computing.
Criticism
Technical hurdles—qubit stability, error-correction and large-scale integration—remain unresolved. Kembara’s growth-fund structure, rather than a long-term national lab, creates pressure for exits within five to seven years, possibly before quantum computers appear. Sources agree on the $160 million raise but differ on timelines for fault-tolerant, million-qubit systems, leaving a gap between optimism and readiness.
Quotes
- “Scaling quantum computers is critical to unlocking the power that could help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, from secure communications to breakthroughs in healthcare and climate science.” — Dr Kris Naudts, Co-founder, Firgun Ventures
- “The fund could have opened with a European enterprise software company or a climate-tech startup with visible revenue. Instead it chose Quantum Motion: a deep-science company founded by UCL professor John Morton and Oxford professor Simon Benjamin, building quantum computers on silicon chips using standard CMOS foundry processes.” — Kembara, EU Technology Growth Fund
- “The British Business Bank’s co-investment alongside Kembara signals joint sovereign backing: Brussels and London aligning on a category where neither can afford to cede ground to the US or China.” — British Business Bank representative
- “Europe is playing an important role in the advancement and adoption of quantum computing.” — Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave Quantum
Outlook
Quantum Motion will use the Series C to enlarge silicon qubit arrays, improve error-correction and strengthen ties with European fabs. DARPA’s Stage B benchmarking runs to 2026, and investors expect a demonstration system within two years, followed by exits—such as a strategic acquisition or IPO—aligned with Kembara’s five-to-seven-year horizon.
