Q*Bird Secures €7.5 Million ($8.75 Million USD) in Blended Finance from EIC Accelerator to Scale Quantum Secure Networks

Q*Bird Secures €7.5 Million ($8.75 Million USD) in Blended Finance from EIC Accelerator to Scale Quantum Secure Networks Q*Bird, a Netherlands-based leader in quantum-secure communication, has officially signed its EIC Accelerator agreement, securing €2.5 million ($2.92 million USD) in grant funding and €5 million ($5.85 million USD) in equity investment. Selected as one of only 40 startups from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants, the Delft-based company will utilize the funds to scale its “NEXUS” project. This initiative is designed to enhance the efficiency of Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) hardware and establish an end-to-end sovereign quantum networking capability for Europe. The technical core of the NEXUS project focuses on driving down the cost and physical footprint of MDI-QKD systems while introducing an orchestration layer for multi-operator and multi-domain networking. Unlike standard QKD protocols, Q*Bird’s MDI-QKD architecture utilizes a hub-and-spoke configuration that eliminates all detector-based vulnerabilities, providing intrinsic security for data in transit without relying on “trusted nodes.” This makes the technology particularly suitable for national and cross-border critical infrastructure, as demonstrated by the company’s existing deployments at the Port of Rotterdam and the 132-kilometer quantum link between Belgium and Luxembourg. Strategically, this investment from the European Innovation Council is intended to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and reduce strategic dependencies in secure communication. Beyond its flagship Falqon® Series of QKD products, QBird is developing the foundational fabric for a future federated quantum internet, including quantum network controllers and interconnect points for quantum processors. By expanding its European production capacity and advancing its network-level intelligence, QBird aims to transition quantum security from isolated pilot programs to a cohesive, continental-scale infrastructure. Read the official announcement from Q*Bird here. January 12, 2026 Mohamed Abdel-Kareem2026-01-12T10:03:04-08:00 Leave A Comment Cancel replyComment Type in the text displayed above Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.