Photonic Inc. Closes Investment Round With Over $200 Million USD
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Insider Brief Photonic Inc. announced that it closed an investment round exceeding $200 million at a $2 billion post-money valuation. The financing round was led by Planet First Partners and included new backing from organizations such as Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, Bell Ventures, and returning investors including Microsoft and Mubadala Capital. Photonic said the funding will support development of its silicon-based, networked quantum computing platform, expand partnerships tied to telecom infrastructure, and advance projects including Canada’s Quantum Champions Program and DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. PRESS RELEASE — Photonic Inc., a global leader in distributed quantum computing, today announced the final close of over $200M USD ($275M CAD) in investment, giving the company a $2B USD ($2.7B CAD) post-money valuation. The round, led by Planet First Partners, a UK-based sustainable technology growth equity firm, brings total capital raised by Photonic to over $350M USD ($475M CAD). This round adds new investors Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Export Development Canada (EDC), Bell Ventures, Firgun Ventures, InBC Investment Corp. and existing investor Mubadala Capital. The round’s first close, announced in January 2026, attracted strategic investors Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and TELUS, alongside returning investors British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and Microsoft. The breadth of investors demonstrates strong support across Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Middle East. Photonic is accelerating the path to fault-tolerant quantum computing through its Entanglement First™ Architecture, a unique approach combining silicon-based qubits and native photonic connectivity that enables seamless scaling across existing global telecom infrastructure. “This financing unites government, strategic partners, and international investors around a shared conviction: that commercial-scale quantum computing is within reach – and that its economic impact will be transformative. We would particularly like to recognize the meaningful contributions from the Government of Canada via both BDC and EDC. Photonic is already delivering on commitments to customers, including as part of the Canadian Quantum Champions Program and Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative. We will use this funding to continue to hit key milestones, grow our team, and deepen the partnerships that will take us there.” — Don Mattrick, CEO, Photonic Inc. “Distributed architectures will be an important way to scale quantum technology, and Photonic is an important partner in advancing that future. Their design allows quantum systems to operate over today’s fiber infrastructure, offering a practical and scalable path toward the large‑scale systems that transformative applications will demand. We’re pleased to continue our partnership as they take this next step.” — Zulfi Alam, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Quantum “Through its StrongNorth Fund, BDC invests in Canadian companies developing defence and dual-use technologies that underpin Canada’s resilience, security, and long-term economic leadership. Photonic fits that thesis: it is advancing scalable quantum capabilities, working with leading global partners, and building on a strong base of Canadian talent. By investing alongside international partners, BDC is helping scale this homegrown company, strengthen a critical domestic capability, and position the economy to benefit from the next wave of computing innovation.” — Peter Suma, Managing Partner, StrongNorth Fund, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) “We’re pleased to welcome Photonic to Bell Ventures’ portfolio to collaborate with Bell’s team on advancing sovereign, scalable quantum computing capabilities in Canada. This investment reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting home-grown innovation across the technology ecosystem. — Martin Cossette, Head of Bell Ventures, Bell Ventures “Photonic’s innovation is pushing the boundaries of advanced computing and data infrastructure, helping to build the next generation of scalable quantum technologies that can integrate with global cloud and compute ecosystems. EDC is proud to support high potential Canadian companies like Photonic as they grow, compete internationally, and anchor advanced intellectual property and talent in Canada, and we look forward to the industry advancements that its technology will help enable.” — Guillermo Freire, Senior Vice-President, Mid-Market Group, Export Development Canada (EDC) “This investment round demonstrates global recognition of Photonic’s breakthrough approach to distributed quantum computing. At TELUS, we’ve seen firsthand how Photonic’s Entanglement First™ Architecture can seamlessly integrate with our PureFibre infrastructure to deliver transformative quantum capabilities. This milestone represents not just a financial achievement, but validation of a partnership and vision that positions Canada at the forefront of quantum innovation – technology that will reshape industries and create secure, connected solutions for the future.” —Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer, TELUS Evercore acted as sole placement agent to Photonic on the capital raise Matt Swayne LinkedIn With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Quantum Insider since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses. matt@thequantuminsider.com Share this article: