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Universal Quantum—Universal Quantum raises over $100M Series A co-led by DCVC and Firgun VenturesModular iQPU trapped-ion computerUniversal Quantum—Universal Quantum to set up its first R&D centre outside Europe, in Singapore

Universal Quantum

Modular trapped-ion chip computers

GBprivateest. 2018universalquantum.com (opens universalquantum.com)Checked 11 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • Raised over $100M in a Series A in Oct 2026, co-led by DCVC and Firgun Ventures: the largest Series A for a UK-based quantum firm.
  • Its biggest customer deal is a €67M (about $77M) DLR contract for two trapped-ion computers in Hamburg, running Dec 2022 to Nov 2026.
  • Announced an R&D centre in Singapore in Sep 2026, its first outside Europe, starting with 25 staff.

Technical approach

As reported
Qubits

Charged atoms on a chip

Each qubit is a single ion held above a chip by electric fields. Identical atoms make identical qubits, and they stay coherent for a long time.

Link

Moving qubits between chips

Electric fields shuttle an ion from one chip to the next across their joined edge (UQConnect), so chips tile together instead of linking by light.

Control

Microwaves instead of lasers

Gates are driven by a few shared microwave fields rather than one laser beam per qubit, which avoids the optics that make ion machines hard to scale.

Cooling

Runs at about 70 kelvin

The company says its system runs near 70 K, far easier to reach at scale than the 4 K or millikelvin cooling most rival approaches need.

Primer