Edmonton-based Zero Point Cryogenics, which produces refrigerators and cryogenic equipment to keep quantum computers cool, has secured $2.67 million in non-dilutive funding.
“This funding solidifies the support for [Zero Point Cryogenics] at municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government.”
– CEO Chris Cassin
The capital comes from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), which contributed $1.95 million, and the City of Edmonton Edge Fund, which made up the remaining $723,500. Zero Point said the funding will be used on research and development, expanding its team, and driving a global sales effort.
“Both the city of Edmonton and Alberta are great places to grow a quantum technology company thanks to the skilled talent pipeline developed in institutions like the University of Alberta and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology,” Zero Point CEO Chris Cassin said in a statement. “This funding solidifies the support for [Zero Point Cryogenics] at municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government.”
The PrairiesCan funding stems from the Regional Quantum Initiative, part of Canada’s $360-million National Quantum Strategy, which launched last year. The strategy aims to support the research, talent, and commercialization in Canada’s quantum sector.
Founded in 2017 by CTO John P. Davis, a tenured professor at the University of Alberta with a PhD in physics, Zero Point produces cooling systems for quantum computers called dilution refrigerators. Dilution refrigerators use a mix of isotopes to create temperatures close to the coldest possible temperature in physics, zero Kelvin, which is important for the operation of quantum computers.
RELATED: Xanadu’s Christian Weedbrook is raising another $200 million to build a quantum data centre
Zero Point sells three models of cooling equipment that vary in size, from the small, liquid nitrogen-based, 77 K Cryostat intended for “quick cryogenic testing,” to the Model L intended for “large experiments or extensive wiring.”
In February, Zero Point announced its participation in the “Microwave Quantum Radar” project as part of the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program. The project, which featured the University of Waterloo, Qubic Technologies, and Carleton University as partners, received $3 million from the federal government. Initiated by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, IDEaS looks to apply quantum technologies to defence and security.
Last September, Zero Point was accepted into a cohort of the Creative Destruction Lab quantum program offered by the Rotman School of Business in Toronto. Zero Point said the program would give it access to resources such as mentors and investors that could help with its growth. The Creative Destruction Lab partnered with Canadian quantum giant Xanadu in 2018 to allow ventures in its cohorts to access Xanadu’s Strawberry Fields, an open-source quantum software platform.
Feature image courtesy of Zero Point Cryogenics.