T. Rowe Price is an investment management firm dedicated to funding technology startups. The firm serves individuals, financial intermediaries, and institutions and offers a full range of investment strategies across a broad spectrum: debt, equities, and private equities.

T. Rowe Price

Breyer Capital is a premier global venture capital and private equity investor focused on catalyzing high-impact entrepreneurs in the United States and China. Founded by Jim Breyer in 2006, Breyer Capital makes long-term, idea-driven strategic investments in its chosen core areas: social media, entertainment/media, digital health, and financial technologies.  Breyer Capital actively partners with a diverse set of companies including early-stage startups building breakthrough technologies, fast growing companies, and established worldwide leading corporations. Its team enjoys helping to frame strategic investments anchored by the passion of founders and owner/operator teams, the insights of its network of world-class investors, and a conviction that artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality will transform technology and investment opportunities globally.

Breyer Capital

First Light Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments. The firm specializes in the fields of finance, venture capital, and investments.

First Light Capital

Section 32, the new venture fund launched by Bill Maris, was named in homage to Section 31, an intelligence agency from the Star Trek universe.  Maris, the GV (Google Ventures) founder/former-CEO, has raised $150 million for the project that will focus on various investments.  The fund will be run directly by Maris and primarily based out of San Diego.

Section 32

Guggenheim Investments is the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners with more than $250 billion* in total assets across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. We focus on the return and risk needs of insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors.

Guggenheim Investments

Founded in 2019, Parkway operates at the intersection of vision and execution with a focus on cutting-edge technologies and business models. The firm is largely focused on the trend of digital transformation of businesses, products and systems with software and hardware technologies in data science, artificial intelligence (AI), simulation, automation, spatial computing, internet of things (IOT), augmented reality (AR), generative design and optimization technologies.  Parkway primarily targets investments in the Climate Tech, Construction Tech (Contech), Property Tech (Proptech), Generative Design, Business Intelligence, Health Tech, Metaverse and Direct-to-Consumer sectors. Companies in which Parkway investments typically have a software as a service, unique technology, valuable patents and intellectual property that make them highly competitive in the market, valuable to potential strategic acquirers and/or display the potential for high growth annual recurring revenue.

Parkway Venture Capital

Time Ventures is an investment fund for Marc Benioff. The company looks to invest in theB2B, hospitality, non-financial services, and commercial products and services sectors.

Time Ventures

SandboxAQ

Quantum information processing is slowly becoming a reality, ushering in a new technological era.

Quantum Computing

<div>
 
 Qunnect develops quantum hardware that helps transform telecommunications infrastructure into scalable quantum networks. It facilitates quantum-based communications, networking, and the internet.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s product suite includes 1) Qu-Source, an entangled photon source device that is designed to interface with the majority of quantum computing and sensing platforms, 2) Qu-Memory, a quantum memory device capable of storing arbitrary qubits, 3) Qu-APC, an automated polarization compensating device, 4) Qu-Swap, a telecom or near-infrared (NIR)-compatible Bell state measuring module, 5) Qu-SYNC, a quantum synchronizer module, and 6) Qu-Lock, a design for an atomic reference module to facilitate the stabilization of telecom wavelengths. As of May 2024, it was also developing quantum key distribution (QKD) systems by integrating its photon source and memory devices. Qunnect&rsquo;s differentiation stems from the capability of its products to operate at room temperature.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In November 2021, the company announced the first sale of Qunnect&rsquo;s quantum memory to 
 <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qunnect-announces-sale-of-first-commercial-quantum-memory-301428820.html">
 Brookhaven National Laboratory
 </a>
 .
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 Qunnect raised USD 8 million in a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13608">
 Series A
 </a>
 funding round in October 2022 led by Airbus Ventures to develop its product suite, scale its manufacturing, and launch a multi-node R&amp;D quantum network testbed to demonstrate entanglement distribution protocols.
 
</div>

Qunnect is a spin-off venture from the Quantum Information Technology group at Stony Brook university that focusses on engineering novel quantum devices enabling future information networks and quantum computing using photons to communicate and atoms to store and process quantum information. In particular, Qunnect focuses on engineering novel quantum memories and quantum sources that will enable future information networks and quantum computing.

EvolutionQ creates quantum-safe cybersecurity products that assist clients in deploying and managing quantum technologies across their networks. They also offer risk-management strategy and advisory services to clients who want to protect their digital infrastructures.

SandboxAQ is an enterprise SaaS company that provides AI & quantum solutions. SandboxAQ solutions include modern cryptography management, simulation for drug discovery and materials science, and quantum sensors for navigation and cardiography.

Sandbox AQ develops commercial software solutions combining AI and quantum computing technologies. It aims to solve practical problems in the areas of telecommunications, finance, security, and healthcare. Sandbox AQ spun out from Google’s parent company Alphabet in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9327">March 2022 </a>to act independently after six years of operations. According to the company, Alphabet does not hold any stake in Sandbox, but it will continue to offer its Google Cloud (and other cloud computing services).

Sandbox AQ

SandboxAQ Collaborates with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Speed Identification of New Therapies

Sanofi

To pinpoint biomarkers during clinical development by leveraging the latter's large quantitative models (LQMs).

Artificial intelligence is identifying and testing new therapies faster than ever.

AI Drug Discovery

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies providing their ML platform to other pharma companies to identify biomarkers (measurable biological signs used to determine disease progression) and predict drug response. 

Accenture

To consolidate data encryption and secure against future threats.

Together, Accenture and SandboxAQ will provide comprehensive AI-enabled cryptographic management leveraging SandboxAQ’s Security Suite.

Developers of quantum algorithms and software programs for specific industries such as pharmaceuticals or finance.

NVIDIA

Nvidia is working with SandboxAQ, a startup spun off from Google-parent Alphabet last year, to expand the volume of chemical reactions that companies can simulate in order to help develop new materials for drugs and batteries

Qunnect

Airbus Ventures

Motus Ventures

New York Ventures

Quantonation

Impact Science Ventures

Hardware manufacturers for quantum computers or quantum-adjacent products.

evolutionQ

The Group Ventures

Sandbox AQ develops commercial software solutions combining AI and quantum computing technologies. It aims to solve practical problems in the areas of telecommunications, finance, security, and healthcare. Sandbox AQ spun out from Google’s parent company Alphabet in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9327">March 2022 </a>to act independently after six years of operations. According to the company, Alphabet does not hold any stake in Sandbox, but it will continue to offer its Google Cloud (and other cloud computing services).The company offers a security suite focused on cybersecurity and cryptography, which scans the IT systems of enterprises to detect any data that still employs outdated cryptography standards. Once identified, the software determines which sections of the system require prompt updates and strengthens the encryption of the entire organization. Sandbox AQ also offers quantum simulation software that aids in the creation of novel drugs and materials, along with quantum sensors for medical devices. The company also develops technologies with the intention of replacing the global positioning system (GPS) in the future.In January 2024, SandboxAQ acquired Canada-based quantum simulation company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25312">Good Chemistry </a>for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is reportedly SandboxAQ’s first acquisition in the AI simulation sector.Key customers and partnershipsThe company focuses on offering its solutions to the enterprise segment and government organizations. As of February 2023, it had secured more than 15 industry and government customers for its post-quantum cryptography and simulation solutions, including Mount Sinai Health System, Vodafone Business, and Softbank Mobile.Its most recent enterprise partnerships include a partnership with <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sandboxaq-announces-a-partnership-with-evolutionq-as-part-of-its-new-strategic-investment-program-301597560.html">EvolutionQ </a>(August 2022) to jointly deliver quantum-safe cryptography solutions to protect commercial and government data and <a href="https://www.quantumbusinessnews.com/deals-partnerships/google-s-quantum-company-partners-with-ey-deloitte">EY and Deloitte </a>(May 2022) to offer quantum advisory services and technology-enabled solutions to clients. In November 2023, the company collaborated with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24203">NVIDIA </a>to leverage quantum mechanics and AI for predicting chemical reactions in various fields. In January 2024, SandboxAQ entered a collaboration with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25587">Accenture </a>to provide AI and quantum computing solutions aimed at bolstering cybersecurity measures in organizations.

The UK-based Quantum Motion Technologies is engaged in developing quantum computer architectures based on silicon technology, which are compatible with standard silicon processing (CMOS process). The company believes this approach will enable it to create scalable quantum computers with thousands to millions of qubits. The company is working on a technology platform that is not just a qubit, but a scalable array of qubits based on the ubiquitous silicon technology already used in smartphones and computers.Quantum Motion’s goal is to fast-track the development of true fault-tolerant quantum computers and reach a million qubits and beyond by leveraging existing knowledge in device fabrication within the trillion-dollar silicon industry.Key customers and partnershipsIn February 2024, Quantum Motion entered into a project with the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26533">National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) </a>to build the UK’s first silicon-based quantum processor test bed in its Oxfordshire site. In November 2023, Quantum Motion partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to further develop its silicon quantum computer chip technology.Funding and financialsThe company raised GBP 42 million (USD 50.5 million) in a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16504">Series B </a>funding round in February 2023 led by Bosch Ventures (RBVC). The proceeds were allocated for the development of the company’s quantum processors based on silicon technology.

Quantum Motion Technologies

SeeQC is a quantum hardware startup spun out from Hypres, a leading developer of superconductor integrated circuits. SeeQC was developing a digital system-on-a-chip design that integrates classical and quantum circuits into a hybrid system in order to overcome quantum computers’ current challenges. This also reduces noise and interference, maintaining high-fidelity quantum operations at scale. The company owns and operates superconducting flux quantum (SFQ) processors, a chip fabrication facility that enables the creation of multi-chip quantum computing systems and provides foundry services for superconducting devices. It also has facilities in London, UK, and Naples, Italy.Through the hybrid approach, SeeQC believes it can reduce the cost of quantum computers by 1/400th, provide greater control, and reduce energy requirements significantly.Key customers and partnershipsIn September 2023, the company entered into a collaboration with NVIDIA to develop the first all-digital chip-to-chip link between quantum computers and graphics processing units (GPU). SeeQC has also partnered with multinational chemical company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16298">BASF </a>in February 2023 to explore quantum computing in simulating chemical reactions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

SeeQC

<div>
 
 IonQ develops general-purpose quantum computers using trapped-ion technology. Although the company calls itself a full-stack player, its focus has been on developing hardware. In December 2020, it revealed its quantum roadmap that introduced its new metric, &ldquo;algorithmic qubits (AQ),&rdquo; which represents the largest number of qubits that can be deployed while maintaining high performance and considering error correction. Its latest system IonQ Aria achieved 20 AQ, as of May 2023. In terms of physical qubits, IonQ&rsquo;s latest hardware had 32 qubits, which were expected to hold 22 AQs. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23125">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , the company achieved 29 algorithmic qubits (AQ) using barium qubits for the first time.
 
 
 Founded in 2015, IonQ&rsquo;s main competitive advantage stems from its approach to designing qubits that allow computers to be operated at room temperature with lower error rates.&nbsp;
 
 
 IonQ unveiled the industry&rsquo;s first glass-based trapped ion computing chip called the Reconfigurable Multicore Quantum Architecture (RMQA) technology, in August 2021, which the company believes will significantly expand the longevity of qubits and enable at least triple-digit scalability.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31824">
 July 2024
 </a>
 , the company unveiled an accelerated roadmap with expanded 2025 technical milestones, focused on improving native two-qubit gate performance to over 99.9% (three 9s) in 2025, with further gains expected in 2026 from the transition to barium qubits.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 IonQ has entered several strategic partnership including with&nbsp;
 
 
 1) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25925">
 Rescale
 </a>
 (January 2024) to combine their cloud computing and quantum computing capabilities
 
 
 2) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22265">
 Air Force Research Lab
 </a>
 (September 2023) to deploy two barium-based trapped ion quantum computing systems for quantum networking research and application development in a deal valued at USD 25.5 million
 
 
 3) 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21158">
 BearingPoint
 </a>
 (August 2023) to offer its quantum systems and related professional services to the European market
 
 
 4) SoftBank Investment Advisers (June 2021) to provide support in deploying the company&rsquo;s quantum systems globally
 
 
 5) Accenture (September 2021) to accelerate the industrial application of IonQ&rsquo;s quantum systems
 
 
 The company offers access to its quantum computer via all major quantum cloud computing platforms including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud Marketplace (GCM). It is also integrated with major software development kits (SDK) including IBM Qiskit and Google Cirq. In May 2023, IonQ began offering its IonQ Aria system on Amazon Braket.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker &ldquo;IONQ,&rdquo; in October 2021 via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The IPO raised more than USD 650 million and made IonQ the first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company.&nbsp;It earned a revenue of USD 22 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
 
 
 The company secured Samsung&rsquo;s first-ever quantum computing investment (co-led by a UAE wealth fund) of USD 55 million in 2019. IonQ believes it can tap into Samsung&rsquo;s expertise in miniaturization to shrink quantum computing components.
 
</div>

IonQ

<div>
 
 Rigetti is an end-to-end provider of general-purpose quantum computers. The company&rsquo;s approach to developing computers is based on superconducting qubit technology, similar to Google and IBM. Since 2017, the company has operated a cloud-based quantum platform that allows developers to either create applications or use Rigetti&rsquo;s virtual machine.&nbsp;
 
 
 Rigetti is well-positioned to compete with incumbents as well as startups because of its advancements in hardware, which is currently used by 14 other companies (mostly other quantum software startups). Rigetti introduced the world&rsquo;s first multi-chip quantum processor, in June 2021, that physically connects multiple chips with their own qubits in a single functional processor, which is expected to improve scalability. It also launched its first commercially available 80-qubit quantum system in February 2022, which exceeds the qubit count of any other startup, but is lower than that of IBM.&nbsp;
 
 
 In June 2022, the company expanded its geographical presence with the launch of its 32-qubit, cloud-based 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11308">
 Aspen system in the UK
 </a>
 market. It also strengthened its position in the software segment via the acquisition of QxBranch (a Washington-based quantum computing software company) in 2019. In December 2023, the company launched its first 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24731">
 Quantum Processing Unit (QPU)
 </a>
 , Novera, which is based on its fourth-gen Ankaa-class architecture. The price of the QPU starts from USD 900,000.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In July 2021, the company partnered with Astex Pharmaceuticals to apply quantum technology to drug discovery. This partnership was a stepping stone for Rigetti to commercially apply quantum computing to the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, as part of an InnovateUK grant, the company partnered with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11334">
 Riverlane
 </a>
 in June 2022 to explore and develop error correction solutions. In October 2023, the company was awarded with a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22419">
 (DARPA) 
 </a>
 contract as part of the Imagining Practical Applications for a Quantum Tomorrow (IMPAQT) program to advance quantum algorithms for solving combinatorial optimization problems. In January 2024, the company collaborated with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25242">
 Moody&rsquo;s Analytics
 </a>
 to enhance machine-learning methods for the financial sector using quantum computing abilities. In February 2024, Rigetti Computing and Riverlane joined a project led by the 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27062">
 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
 </a>
 , a part of the US Department of Energy (DOE), to explore the possibility of integrating a quantum computer and high-performance computing (HPC) systems.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Rigetti 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8880">
 went public
 </a>
 on Nasdaq under the ticker &ldquo;RGTI,&rdquo; in March 2022 via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The IPO raised USD 261.8 million and made Rigetti the second publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company, following IonQ. 
 
</div>

Rigetti Computing

PsiQuantum develops general-purpose quantum computers based on the silicon photonic approach, a relatively new method that is capable of using the existing silicon supply chain of conventional electronics. This will help the company keep production costs low and provide scalability. Its semiconductor roadmap involves interconnecting multiple quantum processor chips with optical fibers and high-performance optical switches to enable teleportation and entanglement of single-photon operations between chips.PsiQuantum's technology uses individual photons, particles of light, as qubits. This approach offers several advantages, including the ability to operate at higher temperatures compared to other qubit technologies, compatibility with fiber-optic networks, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. Additionally, photons can maintain quantum states for relatively long periods, allowing more quantum operations and increased computational power.The company aims to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer with one million physical qubits by the end of 2027, enabling error correction and addressing complex problems across various industries.In <a href="https://www.psiquantum.com/news-import/psiquantum-opens-uk-based-research-facility-to-develop-next-generation-high-power-cryogenic-systems-for-large-scale-quantum-computing">March 2023</a>, PsiQuantum opened an advanced R&amp;D facility at the Daresbury Laboratory in the UK, backed by GBP 9 million from the UK Government's Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. This facility provides access to one of Europe's largest liquid-helium cryogenic plants, essential for testing PsiQuantum's approach to storing quantum chips at extremely low temperatures.Key customers and partnershipsWorking toward its goal, in May 2021, PsiQuantum entered a partnership with global chip manufacturer <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2245">GlobalFoundries</a> (GF) to build an integrated, silicon photonics-based quantum system called the “Q1 system” by manufacturing quantum chips in GF’s semiconductor foundry. This partnership also received US federal funding of <a href="https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-announces-25-million-for-globalfoundries-and-psiquantum-to-develop-the-next-generation-of-quantum-computers-at-rome-air-force-research-lab-and-malta-campus-fed-funding-will-strengthen-national-security-supercharge-us-technological-competitiveness_ensure-upstate-new-york-continues-to-lead-quantum-technology">USD 25 million</a> in April 2022.&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13868">October 2022</a>, the company secured a USD 22.5 million contract from the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) to co-design advanced quantum photonic chips that will be manufactured by GF. The company partnered with Japanese quantum software company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7246">QunaSys</a> in December 2021 to research quantum-based industrial chemistry and material science solutions and partnered with the UK-based Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22518">Hartree Centre</a> in October 2023 to develop Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC) applications in the UK. In January 2024, PsiQuantum and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25972">Mitsubishi UFJ </a>Financial Group (MUFG) entered PsiQuantum's Qlimate initiative project with Mitsubishi Chemical to research energy-efficient materials to promote a low-carbon economy.In May 2023, PsiQuantum received a USD 25 million grant from the US Department of Defense, through the Air Force Research Laboratory, for tooling and further development of its photonic quantum computer.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29499">April 2024</a>, the company secured AUD 940 million (USD 620 million) from the Australian Commonwealth and Queensland Governments to establish the first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer in Australia. Notably, PsiQuantum is one of the highest privately funded startup in the industry.

PsiQuantum

Full-stack companies offering hardware and software quantum computing solutions.


Companies developing quantum computing hardware using either gate-based or annealing technology.

Developers of quantum system software such as firmware, operating systems, compilers, qubit control software, etc.

Companies offering access to quantum hardware through either their own hardware or through a third party via the cloud.

Startups in this space offer solutions for building enterprise-specific applications and automations

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 Pharmaceutical company Sanofi has formed a partnership with Quantum software startup SandboxAQ. The collaboration aims to identify biomarkers during the clinical development stage using SandboxAQ's large quantitative models (LQMs).
 As part of the partnership, SandboxAQ's quantitative AI models will be utilized to filter through knowledge graphs and extract new clinical theories from existing literature. The models will identify theories that demonstrate actual causality. These filtration models make up part of SandboxAQ's LQMs, which are trained on a variety of data streams, including proprietary data produced by internal algorithms. The ultimate goal of the partnership is to speed up the process of drug discovery and improve the accuracy of Sanofi's drug development procedures.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Sandbox partnered with NVIDIA in <a href="https: 
//www.genengnews.com/topics/artificial-intelligence/sandboxaq-taps-nvidia-to-boost-its-generative-ai-for-drug-discovery-other-industries/"> July 2024 </a> to integrate its CUDA-accelerated Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) algorithm to enhance its quantitative AI models. Quantitative AI models can perform more challenging computations faster. Sanofi’s partnership with SandboxAQ will significantly improve the drug discovery process.

Sandbox AQ

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