Quobly, a French quantum computing startup based in Grenoble, has closed a €115 million funding round backed by strategic investors STMicroelectronics and Air Liquide. The round was led by the corporate venture arms of both industrial giants, with additional participation from historical backers including Quantonation, Bpifrance, and Supernova Invest. Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from CEA-Leti, Quobly is developing scalable silicon-based spin qubits using a process compatible with existing CMOS semiconductor manufacturing.
The funding, one of the largest for a European quantum hardware company, will accelerate Quobly’s roadmap toward a fault-tolerant quantum computer. The company plans to use the capital to expand its R&D team from 60 to over 120 employees by 2026, deepen fabrication partnerships with CEA-Leti and STMicroelectronics’ Crolles facility, and build a dedicated quantum chip prototyping line. Quobly aims to deliver its first error-corrected quantum processor with 100 logical qubits by 2030, targeting applications in materials simulation, logistics optimization, and pharmaceutical research.
STMicroelectronics’ involvement goes beyond financial investment. The semiconductor manufacturer will provide Quobly with access to its 300mm wafer production capabilities and process design kits, enabling the startup to design qubits that can be manufactured at scale using standard lithography techniques. “Our collaboration with Quobly represents a strategic bet on silicon quantum computing as a natural extension of ST’s core manufacturing strengths,” said Remi El-Ouazzane, President of ST’s Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group. “The ability to co-integrate quantum and classical functions on a single chip is a massive competitive advantage.”
Air Liquide, through its venture capital arm ALIAD, is contributing expertise in cryogenics and ultra-pure materials essential for quantum operation. Quobly’s spin qubits require temperatures near absolute zero, and Air Liquide’s cryogenic systems for dilution refrigerators will be critical for scaling to thousands of qubits. “We see quantum computing as a transformative tool for modeling molecular interactions, which aligns with our core business in gases and materials,” noted Raphaël Vainchtock, Investment Director at ALIAD.
Quobly’s technology operates at around 1 Kelvin, a relatively “warm” temperature compared to superconducting qubits, which reduces cooling complexity and facilitates integration with control electronics. The company has already demonstrated 99% single-qubit gate fidelity on its test chips and aims to surpass 99.9% with error correction by 2027. CEO Maud Vinet, a former CEA researcher and Co-founder of Quobly, emphasized that the €115 million will allow the company to move from lab-scale devices to an industrially relevant platform. “We’re building a quantum computer that leverages the trillion-dollar semiconductor industry’s infrastructure. This round validates that vision.”
The funding comes amid a busy period for European quantum startups. Quobly differentiates itself with its silicon-only, CMOS-compatible qubit architecture, which promises easier scaling than trapped ions or photonic approaches. The new capital brings total funding to over €150 million, including a prior €19 million seed round. Strategic partners will also join Quobly’s scientific advisory board to guide industrialization. With this latest injection, Quobly positions itself as a serious contender in the global race for fault-tolerant quantum computing, alongside scaled players like PsiQuantum and IBM.