LuxQuanta, a leading European Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) manufacturer, has won the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program, securing a €2.5 million grant. The funding, which includes matching financing from the European Investment Bank, will help advance LuxQuanta’s QKD technology. The company, co-founded by Dr. Sebastian Etcheverry and Dr. Saeed Ghasemi and led by CEO Vanesa Díaz, was one of 42 selected from over 1,000 proposals. The funds will support R&D activities, including the optimization of LuxQuanta’s NOVA LQ® system and the integration of its optical circuit QKD technology.
LuxQuanta Secures €2.5M from EIC Accelerator Program
LuxQuanta, a European manufacturer of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology, has been awarded a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. The company, co-founded by Dr. Sebastian Etcheverry and Dr. Saeed Ghasemi, and led by CEO Vanesa Díaz, was one of 42 companies selected from a pool of 1,083 proposals. This funding is set to be supplemented by additional financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), providing a significant boost to LuxQuanta’s QKD technology development.
The EIC Accelerator is a highly respected program that supports high-risk, high-impact innovations and startups across Europe. The selection process is known for its rigor, and LuxQuanta’s success in this program is a testament to the company’s exceptional team, innovative technology, and the potential societal and market impact of its quantum cryptography technology. LuxQuanta is one of five Spanish companies—and the only one from Catalonia—to be recognized, which places the company in a prominent position in the national and Catalan innovation landscape.
Strategic Investment for Quantum Technology Advancement
The funding awarded to LuxQuanta includes a combination of grants and equity investments, a financial strategy designed to help cutting-edge startups transition from the development phase to market readiness. This approach effectively bridges the gap between innovation and commercialization.
In addition to the €2.5 million grant, the equity component of the funding will be managed through the EIC Fund, which supports EIC Accelerator companies with up to €15 million to attract further investment. This financial support comes at a crucial time for LuxQuanta as it embarks on its second financing round, which aims to scale operations, penetrate new markets, and attract top talent.
Innovations in Quantum Key Distribution
A significant portion of the EIC Accelerator grant will be used to fuel R&D activities, including the optimization of the currently commercially available system, NOVA LQ®. The funds will be used to boost production, industrialization, and to strengthen every vertical of the company. Additionally, the funds will support the R&D team’s efforts in integrating LuxQuanta’s optical circuit QKD technology.
LuxQuanta’s main value proposition lies in its work with Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution (CV-QKD) technology, a QKD variant that offers several interesting features. The technology is easier to install in already deployed optical links, can co-exist with classical communication within the same optical band in the fiber, and uses fully mature, reliable, and stable telecom components only, eliminating the need for specialized elements like Single Photon Detectors (SPD).
LuxQuanta’s Future Prospects
With a dedicated team of 25 within just two and a half years of its inception, LuxQuanta is on a trajectory to become a prominent European QKD manufacturer. Following the achievement of winning the EIC Accelerator, LuxQuanta is set to forge strategic partnerships and raise awareness about the vulnerabilities in current communications systems.
LuxQuanta is committed to leveraging its expertise, passion, and team to secure a quantum-safe future, pioneering proprietary Quantum Key Distribution technology. The future is quantum, and the time to prepare is now.
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