• California-based quantum hardware startup Equal1 has been awarded EUR 10 million (USD 11.3 million)—a mix of both equity and grant funding—from the European Innovation Council (EIC) accelerator program established by the European Commission early this year. 

<ul><li>This funding follows the company’s venture funding round in October 2021. It also reported to have demonstrated the first fully integrated quantum processor unit (QPU) to operate at 3.7 Kelvin, which has been operating continuously for the past 18 months.</ul>

• The proceeds will be directed toward expanding Equal1’s team of silicon and AI architects, engineers, and software developers. The company also plans to establish a production process to build affordable and functional quantum computers within the next two years. 

• Founded in 2017, Equal1 develops quantum computers using silicon qubit technology, with a focus on quantum machine learning and quantum optimization. The company has two products at present—Alice, a quantum demonstrator, and Aquarius, a quantum computer that is expected to be available in late 2021.