SINGAPORE-BASED Horizon Quantum Computing has raised US$18.1 million in a Series A funding round with investors including China’s Tencent and Sequoia Capital India.

Other investors in the round are deep tech investor SGInnovate, life sciences-focused venture firm Pappas Capital and early-stage investor Expeditions Fund, Horizon announced on Friday (Mar 31).

Founded in 2018, Horizon is one of a handful of quantum computing startups in Singapore, focused on a future where ultra-fast processing power could be achieved with quantum computers – a new generation of computers built on the principles of how subatomic particles behave.

Horizon is developing tools that will make it easier to construct complex quantum algorithms, so that quantum computers may be more accessible and efficient for industrial applications. The startup had previously raised S$4.5 million in seed capital from Sequoia and SGInnovate, among other investors.

With the latest fundraise, Horizon will strengthen its science and engineering teams, establish its new engineering centre in Europe and bring its technology to market. The company opened its first European office in Ireland and is recruiting a software engineering team in Dublin.

“(We) focus on unlocking the power of future quantum computers, and have made significant headway towards our goal of enabling conventional software developers to take advantage of the technology,” said Horizon’s CEO Dr Joe Fitzsimons.

Pieter Kemps, Surge Partner at Sequoia Capital India and South-east Asia, said he has been “hugely impressed by the technological breakthroughs that the team has achieved in a short period of time”.

SOURCE: businesstimes.com.sg