Groove Quantum, a Delft-based quantum computing startup spun out of QuTech in 2024, has raised €16 million in combined funding and unveiled an 18-qubit germanium spin-qubit processor, which the company says is the largest semiconductor quantum processor ever built.
The round combines €10 million in equity, co-led by Innovation Industries and 55 North, with participation from Verve Ventures and the European Innovation Council Fund, alongside €6 million in grants from the EIC Accelerator and the EU Chips Act programme.
Quantum computing promises solutions to problems that overwhelm even the most advanced classical machines, from designing new medicines to unlocking better materials for clean energy. Plus, the industry continues to face a central obstacle: scaling.
IBM and Google’s superconducting qubits require cooling to near absolute zero and are physically large; IonQ and Oxford Ionics use trapped ions, which are precise but hard to miniaturise. Groove’s germanium spin qubits are designed from the start to avoid both constraints.
Founded in 2024, Groove Quantum builds on more than two decades of research in spin qubits. The company is led by Anne-Marije Zwerver and Nico Hendrickx, whose work draws on breakthroughs from researchers including Menno Veldhorst, Giordano Scappucci, and Lieven Vandersypen. Collectively, the team has contributed to more than 60 publications in leading scientific journals.
Instead of choosing between extremes, it uses germanium to create spin qubits that strike a practical balance. These qubits are large enough to be controlled and connected reliably, yet compact enough, measuring only a few hundred nanometres, to be densely integrated on a chip. The result is a design that directly addresses one of the field’s biggest limitations.
Equally important is how these processors are built. Groove’s technology is compatible with CMOS manufacturing, the same platform that underpins modern CPUs and GPUs. This allows the company to tap into existing semiconductor infrastructure rather than relying on specialised fabrication. By leveraging decades of advances in chip production, packaging, and yield, the company is aligning quantum development with one of the most scalable industrial systems ever created.
The newly demonstrated 18-qubit processor marks a turning point. Earlier spin-qubit efforts have taken years to reach far smaller systems, but Groove achieved this milestone in under two years and at a fraction of the expected cost. The processor is designed as a scalable architecture. Its layout can be tiled to scale up into larger systems, forming the foundation for future expansion.
“The quantum industry remains in its early innings, focusing on short-term monetisation opportunities for very specific use-cases. Groove has the potential to leapfrog the competition, scaling quantum computing to the level where it unlocks meaningful real-world applications across health, energy, security and beyond,” says Vincent Kamphorst, investment director, Innovation Industries.
Groove plans to scale from 18 to 100 qubits by building a “unit cell” that contains all the essential components for further growth. At the same time, it will begin manufacturing at established semiconductor foundries, moving closer to industrial-grade production.
