Horizon Quantum Computing, a Singapore-based company, has secured an additional $18.1 Million in Series A funding from a group of investors. With this new investment, the company plans to expand and enhance its science and engineering teams, hasten product development, establish its new engineering centre in Europe, and introduce its technology.
As a result of this funding, Horizon Quantum Computing‘s total funding now amounts to approximately USD 21.3 million. The investors in the funding round included Sequoia Capital India, Tencent, SGInnovate, Pappas Capital, and Expeditions Fund.
Horizon Quantum Computing is developing a new breed of programming tools that will streamline and accelerate the software development process for quantum computers. The company’s primary objective is to eliminate the need for prior experience with quantum computing when developing applications for quantum hardware. This will effectively make the power of quantum computing accessible to every software developer, thereby democratizing the field and unlocking the full potential of quantum computing for a broad range of industries and applications.
Sequoia Capital India and SGInnovate are both early investors in Horizon Quantum Computing. Both companies have reaffirmed their support for Horizon’s goal of developing software development tools that will make it easier and more efficient to program quantum computers, making it as accessible and straightforward as it currently is for conventional computers.
“Quantum computing has the potential to completely change how we think about computing. While getting to large scale quantum computing is a daunting challenge, it is undeniable that progress towards that goal is being made. At Horizon, 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 through abstraction and automated algorithm synthesis. The new investment will support our effort to break through the barriers to useful quantum computation.”
Dr Joe Fitzsimons, CEO of Horizon
By providing such tools, Horizon Quantum Computing aims to enable more individuals and organizations to tap into the vast potential of quantum computing, which is expected to transform numerous industries and solve some of the most challenging problems in science, finance, and other fields.
“We have been bullish on the developer economy thesis for a long time. At the same time, we believe that a tectonic shift will be driven by advancements in quantum hardware. But unlocking quantum computing for the millions of developers is no small feat. Wouldn’t it be amazing if any developer could develop quantum algorithms with little to no prior quantum experience? This is the future that Horizon is enabling. We believe in Joe’s product vision around abstracting the underlying quantum physics to enable developers to create quantum software with ease, and we have been hugely impressed by the technological breakthroughs that the team has achieved in a short period of time.”
Pieter Kemps, Partner, Surge at Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia.
Harnessing the Full Potential of Quantum Computing through Cutting-Edge Software Development Tools
The company is dedicated to enabling domain experts to leverage the power of quantum computing in their most demanding computational workloads. Horizon is building a quantum software development system that bridges the gap between classical code and quantum-accelerated applications to achieve this goal.
This system is designed to provide developers with the necessary tools and resources to create software that harnesses the full potential of quantum computing.
Key Technological Milestones Achieved by Horizon Quantum Computing
Horizon Quantum Computing has made significant strides in advancing its technology, achieving several key milestones. These milestones include demonstrating advanced techniques in compilation, algorithm synthesis, and rapid device characterization.
During the Q2B conference in Silicon Valley in December 2022, Horizon showcased its integrated development environment and announced plans to launch an early access program later in the year. These achievements demonstrate Horizon’s commitment to developing cutting-edge tools and software that will enable individuals and organizations to harness the power of quantum computing to solve complex problems.
In addition to its technological achievements, Horizon Quantum Computing has made significant strides in expanding its operations and global reach. The company recently joined Singapore’s National Quantum-Safe Network. It achieved the first data transmission from its node, marking a significant milestone in its effort to enable secure and privacy-preserving access to cloud-based quantum computers. Horizon’s participation in this network is aligned with its ambition to make quantum computing more accessible to a broader audience.
Furthermore, Horizon Quantum Computing has announced its plans to establish its first European offices in Ireland, where it will develop its new engineering centre. As part of this initiative, the company is actively recruiting a software engineering team in Dublin to strengthen its operations and support its growth objectives globally.