Equal1 lands $60M to scale silicon-based quantum computing ... - eeNews Europe
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Irish startup Equal1 has raised $60M to push its silicon-based quantum computers from development into deployment. The funding will accelerate rollout of the company’s rack-mounted Bell-1 quantum server and advance its roadmap toward large-scale, manufacturable quantum systems. For eeNews Europe readers, this matters because Equal1 is applying standard semiconductor manufacturing to quantum computing, potentially lowering cost, power and deployment barriers. It also highlights how European deep-tech firms are aligning quantum development with existing CMOS fabs and datacenter infrastructure. The $60M round was led by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), with participation from Atlantic Bridge Ventures, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Matterwave Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone and TNO Ventures. The raise brings Equal1’s total funding to more than $85M. The company positions itself as a “chip company for the quantum age,” building quantum processors using today’s silicon semiconductor industry rather than bespoke fabrication lines. That approach, Equal1 argues, unlocks semiconductor economics where costs fall with volume and yields improve with iteration. McKinsey estimates quantum computing could unlock $100 billion in value by 2035, but infrastructure cost and complexity remain major barriers. Equal1 claims its technology tackles those constraints head-on by focusing on manufacturability and deployment rather than lab-scale systems. Equal1’s flagship product, the Bell-1 Quantum Server, is designed for standard datacenter environments. It is rack-mounted, plug-and-play and does not require dilution refrigerators or custom facilities. The company says systems are already shipping, including to the European Space Agency (ESA), where Bell-1 will be installed at ESA’s Space High Performance Compute Centre in Italy. As AI continues to drive exponential growth in compute demand, power consumption and operating cost are becoming critical constraints. Equal1 sees quantum computing as a tightly integrated accelerator rather than a replacement for classical or AI systems, helping put future compute infrastructure on a more sustainable energy trajectory. “This $60M in funding marks the transition of Equal1 from development to deployment,” said Jason Lynch, CEO of Equal1. “As AI pushes classical computing into power and cost limits, quantum is the way forward, but only if it can be manufactured and deployed like the rest of the stack. By building quantum processors on standard silicon, we’re turning quantum from bespoke hardware into deployable infrastructure – positioning Equal1 as the quantum standard for HPC.” Investors also emphasized the strategic fit with Europe’s semiconductor and quantum ambitions. “Equal1’s approach –building on standard Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible semiconductor manufacturing — aligns directly with Europe’s semiconductor and quantum ambitions,” said Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board. The new funding will be used to deploy Bell-1 systems into leading HPC centers, embed quantum into real workloads, scale manufacturing through existing foundry partnerships, and grow the team. Equal1 also plans to advance toward millions of on-chip qubits, reinforcing its bet that the future of quantum computing looks a lot like today’s semiconductor industry. All material on this site Copyright © 2026 European Business Press SA. All rights reserved.