Quantum computing is transitioning from theoretical research to practical applications across various industries and could be valued at $850 billion by 2040. Companies like IBM and Google are making significant strides in the industry. For instance, Google recently unveiled its quantum chip, Willow, capable of performing computations in under five minutes, a feat that would take the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. However, error correction in quantum computing is a critical challenge. This is where Alice & Bob, a French startup plays a major role.
New industrial site near Paris
The startup that designs and builds quantum computers has raised €100 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Future French Champions (FFC), AVP (AXA Venture Partners), and Bpifrance. All Series A investors, including Elaia Partners, Breega, and Supernova Invest, returned for the Series B round, joined by EIC (European Innovation Council).
The funding will accelerate Alice & Bob’s path to build the world’s first error-corrected quantum computer by 2030. It will use the funding to enhance the performance of its system and improve error correction. Nearly half of the funds will be used to finance the ongoing construction of a state-of-the-art lab and production facility spread across a 4,000-square-metre industrial site near Paris. The other half of the fundraise will be used to double the team to 200 employees in the next 18 months.
In recent months, quantum startups such as Quantum Systems and Ephos raised funding. Also, venture capital firms Maki.vc and Scientifica VC closed funds to propel this industry.
Achieves error correction in quantum computing
Alice & Bob was founded by Dr. Théau Peronnin and Dr. Raphaël Lescanne in 2020 in Paris. Quantum computers face limitations due to the susceptibility of qubits, the quantum counterparts of classical bits that store and process quantum information, to errors. About 1,000 physical qubits are required to form one fully “error-corrected” or “logical” qubit, posing a major challenge.
Alice & Bob has developed a pioneering technology called cat qubits, which has error-correction capabilities. This technology is already adopted by Amazon. The company claims that only five cat qubits are needed to construct one logical qubit. With recent funding, Alice & Bob aims to create its first logical qubit and scale up to a 48-cat-qubit quantum chip within two years, equivalent to four logical qubits.
Elie Girard, Executive Chairman of Alice & Bob, added, “Quantum computing is poised to transform industries, but the engineering complexity has remained a major hurdle. Alice & Bob’s cat qubit innovation offers a clear path forward, combining efficiency and reliability to unlock quantum’s full potential. This funding allows for Alice & Bob to continue to grow as a company and leading player in the industry.”
“Having established performance records with our cat qubits, Alice & Bob now enters a new phase focused on building a quantum computer that can deliver valuable results,” said Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob. “Cat qubits are unique, as they make scaling quantum computers practical: where conventional approaches would require millions of qubits, we would need only thousands.”
Investors’ opinions on Alice & Bob
Antoine Emmanuelli, President, FFC said: “In investing in Alice & Bob, Future French Champions recognises the company as a French leader in quantum computing. We are eager to see Alice & Bob achieve fault-tolerant quantum computing in this highly competitive, evolving field using unique and innovative technology to make France a champion in quantum tech.”
François Robinet, Managing Partner, AVP said: “We have been following the field of quantum computing for a long time at AVP and we are now convinced that quantum computing is leaving the pure R&D space and is entering into an ’industrial’ phase to soon address ’real-life’ use cases, thanks to the technology that Alice & Bob has been developing. AVP is therefore proud to support the company in their mission to reduce the hardware requirements for building a practical, large-scale quantum computer.”
François Charbonnier, Investment Director, Bpifrance added: “We are thrilled to once again contribute to the groundbreaking work that Alice & Bob is doing to scale quantum computers for real-world applications. Bpifrance’s continued investment in Alice & Bob reflects our goal to establish France as an international leader in quantum computing and bolster the growth of the French economy by investing in technology that will disrupt industries and solve problems globally.”
Maximilien Bacot, co-founder & COO, Breega stated: “For the past four years, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with Alice & Bob’s founders, whose remarkable vision, determination, and expertise continue to inspire us. Together, we’re driving a big leap in technology, redefining the limits of what’s possible with scalable and sustainable quantum computing—an ambition perfectly aligned with Breega’s mission to support transformative innovation.“
Anne-Sophie Carrese, Partner, Elaia stated: “Since Alice & Bob’s inception, Elaia Partners has been proud to stand behind the company as it strives to achieve energy, and hardware-efficient fault-tolerant quantum computers using cat qubits. Alice & Bob’s work in reducing the energy required for quantum computations aligns closely with our ESG goals, and we look forward to seeing how their technology can solve even greater energy problems in other sectors.”
Etienne Moreau, Partner, Supernova Invest added: “Supernova Invest strengthens its commitment to quantum and to Alice & Bob by participating in this Series B as the company has built a clear roadmap towards the delivery of the first faut-tolerant quantum computer. This funding will propel the company into a new era of computing power, far exceeding existing capacity for generational change in critical applications in energy, healthtech or industry.”
