Quantum Delft news
Orange Quantum Systems raises €1.5M pre-seed to accelerate the quantum industry with faster chip testing
Delft Quantum company Orange QS have raised raised €1.5M pre-seed to build fast quantum chip test equipment for the emerging quantum industry. The round was co-led by QDNL Participations and Cottonwood Technology Fund.
September 6th, 2023
DELFT, NETHERLANDS – Orange QS, have developed and delivered diagnostics tools for the quantum R&D market. This investment, together with the EIC Accelerator grant, enables them to develop the world’s most capable quantum chip testing equipment.
As quantum chip development moves from the lab into industrial fabrication facilities (‘from lab to fab’), the ability to test quantum chips becomes even more of a bottleneck than it is today. Currently, testing a small quantum chip requires weeks, using a full cryogenic quantum lab and a team of dedicated quantum engineers. Testing in an industrial setting only makes the requirements of the cryogenic test environment more stringent, while at the same time demanding much shorter test times per chip.
Orange QS build test equipment to tackle this challenge. Their Industry Systems will provide an easy, affordable and fast alternative to in-house testing solutions, that industry customers would otherwise have to build themselves. This approach is well-known in the semiconductor industry, where ATE (Automated Test Equipment) companies focus on building test equipment. Doing this for quantum chips, however, requires quantum expertise, which sets them apart.
Although this is their first round of external funding, they have operated commercially for three years already, selling products and executing subsidized projects. They have grown to a full-time team of 17 people, and established their own cryogenic lab facilities in Delft.
For the R&D market, they have made their Quantum Diagnostics Libraries available as a product, a suite of proprietary software libraries that can be used by a student or researcher of quantum devices. Also for the R&D market, they have launched the Orange Rack, a stack of control electronics seamlessly integrated with the Quantum Diagnostics Libraries that guarantees automation of your qubit diagnostics process. Both product lines will be further developed for superconducting devices and expanded to other qubit platforms.
The new funds will be used to develop Orange QS’ next generation of quantum chip test equipment. They will combine their products built for the R&D market and embed new key innovations. This next generation of equipment will be the first turnkey solution optimized for high-speed qubit testing, targeting the emerging quantum industry market.
“We think Orange QS has chosen a very unique position in the quantum supply chain, and we are very excited that this team is able to be the global winner in quantum diagnostics and testing”
– Alain le Loux, General Partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund.
About Orange QS
Orange QS builds test equipment to test quantum chips. The Dutch company was founded in 2020 as a QuTech spin-off. Located in Delft, the Netherlands, the team has grown to 17 full-time employees and has been delivering software and equipment for R&D into quantum chips for three years. Orange QS has top advisors with experience at ASML and NXP, as well as David DiVincenzo, a distinguished scientist in the field of quantum information. Together with an EIC Accelerator grant and a VC-backed investment round, this allows Orange QS to deliver test equipment to the emerging global quantum industry. Find out more at orangeqs.com
