Firgun backs Quantum Motion in GBP £62 million round

Firgun Ventures has made its first European investment by backing Quantum Motion in a USD $160 million Series C round, marking the quantum-focused investor's entry into Europe.

The round was co-led by DCVC and Kembara, with participation from the British Business Bank, Oxford Science Enterprises, Inkef, Bosch Ventures, Porsche Automobile Holding and Parkwalk Advisors. Firgun manages a USD $250 million quantum fund.

Quantum Motion is a London-headquartered quantum computing company founded by Professor John Morton of UCL and Professor Simon Benjamin of the University of Oxford. It develops full-stack quantum computers using standard 300mm silicon CMOS technology, the manufacturing process widely used for chips in consumer electronics.

Its approach is intended to support a path towards systems with millions of qubits and fault-tolerant quantum computing. Quantum Motion employs more than 100 people across the UK, the US, Australia and Spain.

Firgun's investment adds to a financing history that has brought in more than GBP £62 million in equity and grant funding for Quantum Motion. That total includes a GBP £42 million Series B round led by Bosch Ventures and Porsche Automobile Holding, which supported expansion and work on silicon quantum processors.

Silicon approach

Quantum Motion is one of several quantum hardware companies using existing semiconductor manufacturing methods to address one of the sector's central challenges: building machines at a useful scale. Its strategy focuses on standard silicon chips rather than more specialised fabrication routes, a distinction supporters argue could make production easier to scale if the technology proves viable.

The company unveiled a full-stack quantum computer on standard silicon chips, and the system is now deployed at the National Quantum Computing Centre for research including drug discovery. It was also one of 11 companies selected by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency to move to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.

That places Quantum Motion in a competitive field where companies are racing to demonstrate not only scientific progress but also a credible path to manufacturing, software integration and commercial use. Investors have continued to back businesses that argue they are addressing these issues, despite a broader reset in technology funding over the past two years.

European foothold

For Firgun, the investment provides a foothold in a European quantum market that has attracted growing public and private capital. It has previously backed Photonic, a Canadian company focused on distributed quantum computing and communications, and Quantum Elements, a Los Angeles startup developing an artificial intelligence platform for building quantum applications.

Europe has sought to position itself as a centre for quantum research and commercialisation, with the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands supporting programmes aimed at turning academic work into industrial businesses. London-based Quantum Motion sits within that broader push to retain and scale quantum companies in the region rather than see them move elsewhere for later-stage capital.

"Scaling quantum computers is critical to unlocking the power that could help solve some of the world's biggest challenges, from secure communications to breakthroughs in healthcare and climate science. Firgun is proud to support Quantum Motion as they scale capabilities in the UK, turning world-class research into global leadership and keeping Europe at the forefront of the next industrial revolution," said Dr Kris Naudts, co-founder of Firgun Ventures.

The funding round is one of the larger financings in Europe's quantum sector and underlines continued investor appetite for companies claiming a route to scalable hardware. It also highlights the role of specialist funds alongside public institutions and corporate venture investors in supporting a technology area that still requires long development timelines and substantial capital.

Quantum Motion's latest raise comes as governments and industry groups increasingly frame quantum computing as a strategic technology with implications for security, scientific research and industrial competitiveness. Against that backdrop, the company now has support from a syndicate spanning specialist venture capital, state-backed finance, university-linked investors and large industrial groups.