Terra Quantum, a Swiss quantum technology company, announced that it has extended its Series A round to $75M, marking one of the largest funding rounds achieved in the quantum tech space. The capital announcement comes three months after raising $60M Series A funding in January
How will the funding be used?
The fresh funds will enable Terra Quantum to enhance its offering around data cryptography and cybersecurity.
Markus Pflitsch, founder and CEO of Terra Quantum says: “The extension of our Series A and our remarkable breakthrough around negative capacitance only further illustrates our strong trajectory and commitment to leading the global quantum revolution. We’re delighted to have even more investors on board who share our vision and I’m filled with pride that the Terra Quantum team has demonstrated exactly how we’re achieving this vision. Terra Quantum is innovating in both the software and hardware space, building the foundation needed for quantum and nanodevices that will shape the future of our society. The applications of our research are endless, and we can’t wait to take the next steps to realise them.”
Led by a senior finance executive and quantum physicist Markus Pflitsch, Terra Quantum develops revolutionary deep tech applications based on quantum computing, hardware, software, and algorithms.
Physics of ferroelectricity
The Swiss company is exploring the nontrivial physics of ferroelectricity. The company’s researchers have demonstrated how the opposite effect can be achieved when ferroelectric materials are utilised in a particular manner.
Terra Quantum has devised the specific design for one of the most widely used electronic devices, the field-effect transistor, which exploits this phenomenon, known as “negative capacitance.”
The breakthrough helps further the miniaturisation of electronics. Terra Quantum is the first company to reveal the underlying mechanism of ferroelectric-based negative capacitance while also sharing methods for its practical realisation.
“The benefits of Terra Quantum’s breakthrough in the physics of ferroelectricity are innumerable as it facilitates the electronics of the future, especially the long-sought-after terahertz frequency-based electronics,” says the company in the press release.
The advantage of THz-based medical diagnostics is that terahertz photons are not energetic enough to break chemical bonds or ionize biomolecules.
It can be used as a non-invasive technique for the early detection of cancer, ex-vivo spectroscopy, and the imaging of tissues (biopsy), preventive healthcare and blood testing, diagnostics of osteoarthritis, arthritis, and many others.
The company’s research opens up the realisation of future super-low-power transistors the size of human DNA for the first time.
This marks an important step in the development of quantum computer designs and nanotech that will enable enhanced spectroscopy, intrachip communications, new quantum computer architectures, and 6G mobile communications.
Valerii Vinokur, CTO of Terra Quantum says: “Our research is another giant leap towards ushering in the next generation of technology. Harnessing negative capacitors and leveraging them in electronic circuits paves the way for a new generation of transistors and optoelectronic resonators. These serve as the foundation of key technologies such as computer chips that power everything from cars to medical equipment. The team at Terra Quantum has worked tirelessly to achieve this, demonstrating our initiative as a technology pioneer and thought leader in the quantum space.”
