A British start-up seeking to build a working quantum computer has raised US$100 million (S$128.1 million) from a range of investors, including a Singapore government fund and Roblox chief executive officer David Baszucki.
Universal Quantum will use the Series A financing to expand research hubs in Germany and Singapore, it said in a statement on Oct 8. Investment firm DCVC and Firgun Ventures co-led the round, with participation from Singapore’s Economic Development Board Investments (EDBI), Baszucki and others.
The investor base is “meant to be as global and sovereign as possible, aligning where we’d like to be more active”, Universal Quantum CEO Sebastian Weidt said. He declined to share the company’s valuation.
Universal Quantum is among a wave of start-ups and corporate labs striving to create new machines capable of solving problems classical computers cannot, potentially leading to breakthroughs in fields like medicine and finance.
Several quantum firms have gone public recently as the technology moves closer to useful applications. Major banks have hired experts in the technology, and governments are investing in the sector that has the potential to break existing encryption standards that protect data online.
Still, quantum machines currently are mainly used for research.
In May, the US agreed to invest US$2 billion into companies developing quantum computers and chips. Earlier in 2026, the UK government pledged to spend £1 billion (S$1.7 billion) on the tech over the next four years.
Universal Quantum has won contracts to develop computers for the German government. Weidt, who co-founded the start-up from research at England’s University of Sussex, said the company did not get UK public support in the latest funding round.
He said Universal Quantum’s current commercial strategy operates like a consultant, where his engineers help public agencies and businesses prepare to run software on the start-up’s computers once they are functional. He declined to share revenue figures.
Universal Quantum is backing a trapped-ion system, which uses suspended charged atoms and lasers to perform quantum calculations. Some of its competitors, including Google and Microsoft, are building larger machines that use processors made from superconducting materials.
Weidt said his approach offers the best way to create a dependable working computer with minimal errors. He expects to build a useful working quantum computer within the next decade, although he declined to give a precise date.
“It’s hard to build these machines,” he said. “No one can map this out.” BLOOMBERG
