Arctic Instruments receives 2.35 million euros for the development of quantum computer components

Investing in the future. Lifeline Ventures supports Arctic Instruments in building powerful quantum computers.

Helsinki, Finland, December 10, 2024 - Finnish startup Arctic Instruments has raised 2.35 million euros in a financing round. The capital will go towards the development and production of microwave amplifiers, which are essential for building powerful quantum computers.

Arctic Instruments has developed a product that solves one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing

Timo Ahopelto, founding partner of Lifeline Ventures

The financing round was led by Lifeline Ventures, one of the leading venture capitalists in Finland. Lifeline is known for backing promising technology companies at an early stage.

Key component for more computing power

Arctic Instruments specializes in the production of so-called "near-quantum-limited" amplifiers. These minimize measurement noise to the physical limits and enable precise qubit measurements. Current quantum computers have around 100 qubits and require up to 20 amplifiers per computer. With the planned scaling to thousands of qubits, the same number of amplifiers will be required.

Our ability to produce these amplifiers in consistently high quality and large quantities is industry-leading

Joonas Govenius, CEO and co-founder of Arctic Instruments

Big market opportunities for quantum computing

Quantum computers with higher computing power could solve complex problems in industries such as chemistry, finance, mobility and life sciences. According to McKinsey, the market could be worth two trillion US dollars by 2035. However, this vision requires a significant scaling up of quantum computers - and Arctic Instruments wants to supply the necessary components.

Success from research

Arctic Instruments is a spin-off of the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, a state-funded research institution. The amplifier technology was developed over many years as part of VTT projects. "Arctic Instruments shows how cutting-edge research can be translated into commercial applications," emphasizes Tauno Vähä-Heikkilä, Vice President of Microelectronics and Quantum Technology at VTT.

With the new funding, Arctic Instruments intends to accelerate its development work and expand production. The aim is to support the scaling of quantum computers without compromising on the quality of key components. "We are helping to overcome the challenges of quantum computing by further improving the quality and consistency of our amplifiers," says Govenius.