Photonic Inc., a Vancouver-based company, develops distributed quantum computing technology. The company has announced the first close of its latest funding round. They raised $180 million CAD ($130 million USD). The investment brings the company’s total funding to $375 million CAD ($271 million USD).
Planet First Partners, an investment firm focused on climate-related technologies, led the round. New investors Royal Bank of Canada and TELUS participated. They joined returning backers like BCI and Microsoft. This signals continued confidence in the company’s technical direction.
Entanglement First Architecture
Photonic is pursuing what it calls an “Entanglement First” architecture—a design that combines silicon-based qubits with native photonic connectivity. The approach aims to enable quantum systems to scale across existing global telecom infrastructure. This scaling addresses one of the fundamental challenges in building commercially viable quantum computers.
The company’s platform is distributed by design. It leverages the manufacturability of silicon spin qubits. It also takes advantage of the connectivity benefits of telecom technology to scale up. These technologies allow it to scale out in parallel.
“Photonic’s game-changing approach to deliver on the decades-old promises of quantum computing continues to progress. This progress is fueled by committed investors and best-in-class employees,” said Paul Terry, CEO of Photonic. “This funding round attracted not only new financial investors but also partners from sectors poised to be transformed by quantum technology—including sustainability, telecommunications, finance, and security.”
Climate and Commercial Applications
Planet First Partners’ involvement reflects growing interest in quantum computing’s potential to address climate challenges. Nathan Medlock, Managing Partner at Planet First Partners, is joining Photonic’s board following the investment.
“Quantum computing can unlock breakthroughs in clean energy, advanced materials, and human health that are beyond the reach of classical systems,” said Medlock. “Photonic’s distributed architecture provides a credible path to rapidly scale towards utility-scale systems—enabling innovations in areas such as battery materials, low-carbon catalysts, and drug design that can meaningfully accelerate climate solutions and improve global wellbeing.”
Royal Bank of Canada’s participation marks the bank’s first direct equity investment in a quantum computing company.
“We believe Photonic’s scalable quantum architecture has the potential to unlock key applications in the financial sector, ranging from security through to portfolio optimization and risk modelling,” said Barrie Laver, Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital & Private Equity at RBC. “In our view, Photonic’s team and technology helps position them as a leader in bringing practical quantum capabilities to market.”
TELUS Global Ventures joined the round with a focus on quantum’s implications for secure communications infrastructure.
“At TELUS Global Ventures, we invest in breakthrough technologies that create tangible value today and for the future and believe quantum computing represents a transformational technology that will fundamentally reshape secure telecommunications infrastructure,” said Terry Doyle, Managing Partner at TELUS Global Ventures. “Photonic’s approach to distributed quantum computing and networking is exactly the kind of game-changing innovation we seek. Together, we’re not just investing in technology, we’re building Canada’s quantum future and delivering solutions that will transform industries worldwide.”
Continued Support from Existing Investors
BCI, one of Photonic’s largest shareholders, returned for this round following the company’s progress since their initial investment.
“Since our initial investment in Photonic, the company has achieved significant technical milestones and demonstrated exceptional capital efficiency,” said Gordon J. Fyfe, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at BCI. “Photonic is advancing secure quantum solutions while forging strategic commercial partnerships. As one of Photonic’s largest shareholders, BCI is proud to support the Photonic team in the pursuit of developing one of the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computers.”
Photonic plans to use the new capital to advance key product milestones toward commercialization, expand its technical and business teams, and deepen customer and partner engagements as it works toward fault-tolerant quantum systems.
Evercore acted as sole placement agent for the capital raise.
