Quantum computing company Xanadu has announced the closing of a $100 million USD Series C round that brought its valuation to $1 billion USD, crowning the Toronto startup as Canada’s latest unicorn.
The funding was led by Georgian with participation from Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Forward Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), along with previous Xanadu investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Capricorn, BDC Capital, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson founding partner Tim Draper.
“The continued support from top-tier investors in this uncertain economic climate is a testament to the belief in [Xanadu].”
– Christian Weedbrook, Xanadu CEO and founder
Xanadu reportedly tripled its valuation, which The Globe and Mail reported as an estimate of $400 million last year. This comes amid the continued dip in startup valuations as inflation, geopolitical issues, and changing consumer trends negatively impact the private and public markets.
Xanadu claimed it has seen growth this year because it launched the world’s first cloud-deployed photonic quantum computer; leads the development of an open-source software library for quantum computing; and established partnerships with global enterprises.
SVB provided about $10 million USD in venture debt, as reported by The Globe and Mail. The publication also noted that Xanadu’s valuation tripled compared to its previous raise last year.
To date, Xanadu has raised $250 million USD. This comprises a $100 million USD Series B round last year, $32 million in Series A financing in 2019, and $9 million in seed capital in 2018.
Founded in 2016 by CEO Christian Weedbrook, Xanadu was established with a mission of using photons, or particles of light, to perform exceptionally fast and complex computations at room temperature.
According to Xanadu, its next goal is to build a fault-tolerant and error-corrected quantum computer capable of scaling up to one million qubits, the scale at which useful applications can be accessed.
The race to build this million-qubit quantum computer includes the likes of Google and IBM. While Xanadu is one of the most notable companies in the photonics space, other players include NTT Technologies, PsiQuantum, and IonQ.
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This latest injection of capital will be allocated towards Xanadu’s million-qubit quantum computer project, specifically building a first module validating its fault-tolerant quantum computing architecture.
Xanadu has been active in establishing partnerships with other organizations to advance developments in quantum computing. The company has worked with the likes of Volkswagen Group, the University of Ottawa, NVIDIA, and Menten AI, among others.
While Xanadu has increased its valuation in the current market, others in the quantum space have slipped. Burnaby-based D-Wave Systems, another Canadian quantum staple, has seen its stock price decline since the company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August.
Regarding Xanadu, CEO Weedbrook said: “The continued support from top-tier investors in this uncertain economic climate is a testament to the belief in our exceptional team, our photonic technology, and our ability to execute.”
Featured image courtesy Xanadu.