We’re backing cryogenic tech to scale quantum computing

Today we’re pleased to share that we have led pre-seed funding in cryogenic electronics startup Rhonexum. The Swiss team has raised $1 million in total.

The funding will allow Rhonexum to accelerate development and begin to commercialize its first product, designed to drive the development of scalable quantum computers.

Rhonexum develops electronics that can operate at cryogenic temperatures close to absolute zero. These temperatures are essential for technologies such as quantum computing, but conventional electronics cannot reliably function in these environments. 

By using proprietary models and software tools, Rhonexum can deliver electronics made using standard semiconductor processes that operate directly within cryogenic systems, removing a major scalability bottleneck in quantum computing.

Rhonexum, a spin-out from AQUA Lab at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), was founded in November 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland by Vicente Carbon and Dr. Hung-Chi Han.

Dr. Han is a published expert in cryogenic semiconductor physics and cryogenic transistor modeling, and previously worked at semiconductor giant TSMC. Vicente Carbon has a background in robotics and systems engineering, with a strong focus on translating deep-tech research into industrial applications.

The new funds will be used to accelerate product development, expand the company’s design team, and deliver a first industrial-grade cryogenic electronics product to a limited group of early customers, scheduled for later this year.

Vicente Carbon, co-founder of Rhonexum, said.

Kris Kaczmarek, QDNL Participations investment director, said:

Portfolio news

• QT Sense has raised a €4 million seed round. It is now going to market with its Quantum Nuova platform that measures biochemical activity inside living cells, revealing how they react to drugs in real time.

• Q*Bird has secured a €5 million equity-based investment and €2.5 million in grant funding from the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator.

• QphoX has announced its new Quantum Transducer, which allows quantum information to travel through optical fiber networks at room temperature and over large distances. IBM is the first company to make use of it.

• QuantaMap is bringing to market a new class of microscope enabling simultaneous nanoscale imaging of quantum chips, analysing heat, magnetism, structure, and electrical behaviour in a single scan. The company has also been awarded a European Innovation Council Accelerator Grant of €2.5 million, combined with an equity investment component by the European Investment Bank.

• Quantum Elements has had peer-reviewed research published in Nature Communications. It presents a path toward scalable fault tolerance in quantum computers. The work demonstrates the highest fidelity of entangled, logical qubits on a superconducting quantum computer ever achieved with a new error detection and suppression approach.

• Qblox has announced the integration of Riverlane’s Deltaflow quantum error correction system with its own high‑performance control hardware, enabling real-time quantum error correction for the global quantum computing market.

• Orange Quantum Systems approaches the launch of its OrangeQS Juice operating system, which provides a unified control center for quantum R&D and production workflows. Leiden Cryogenics has already developed a new refrigerator for quantum R&D labs based on the software.

• Q*Bird and QphoX are both part of Photonics for Quantum (P4Q), a new initiative to improve the reliability, scalability, and manufacturability of photonic chips for quantum sensing, computing, and secure communications.

• …and in case you missed it, we started the year by welcoming Diffraqtion to our portfolio, leading its $4.2 million pre-seed round. Diffraqtion is developing a quantum camera that enables satellites and telescopes to see farther and process visual information dramatically faster than conventional systems. The round has recently been further extended.

Quantum momentum

More recent developments from the world of quantum tech:

• Infleqtion went public on the NYSE via a SPAC, raising $550 million.

• Pasqal and IQM both announced plans to go public via SPAC deals. Pascal is targeting a $2 billion valuation, while IQM pegs its deal at $1.8 billion.

• IonQ announced plans to acquire chip maker SkyWater Technology for $1.8 billion, creating the first vertically-integrated full-stack quantum computing company. It also completed its acquisition of Skyloom Global to boost its quantum networking capabilities.

• IonQ reported $130 million in 2025 revenue, up 202% year over year. This makes it the first publicly-traded quantum computing company to exceed $100 million in annual GAAP revenue.

• D-Wave announced a deal to acquire Quantum Circuits for $550 million.

• Photonic raised $131 million, taking it firmly into unicorn territory and allowing it to scale up its networked quantum computing tech to serve enterprise customers. It ultimately plans to raise a total of $250 million in this round with a rolling close.

• Equal1 raised $60 million as it prepares to deploy a new quantum server for data centers.

• Singapore has committed $29.3 billion over the next five years to its Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 program. Quantum technology is a key focus of the plan.

• The UK has announced £1 billion in funding for the development of large-scale quantum computers for scientists, researchers, the public sector, and businesses. It aims to nurture and retain quantum talent amid global competition.

• The US National Science Foundation is to invest up to $100 million to establish a nationwide network of up to 16 open-access research facilities.

• China announced quantum technology as an important focus for its five-year policy blueprint.