Planqc Raises from the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund and Welcomes Tech Visionary Hermann Hauser to its Board

• Representing the newly formed Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, Dr. Hermann Hauser, the co-founder of ARM, joins planqc’s board
• Based in Munich’s Quantum Valley, planqc is building quantum computers that store information in individual atoms – nature's best qubits
• planqc builds digital, fully programmable quantum computers that work outside of artificial laboratory environments

Munich, February 27, 2023 – planqc, a leading quantum computing company, welcomes Dr. Hermann Hauser, co-founder of ARM, as a new board member. Dr. Hauser represents the newly founded Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, planqc’s new investor.

Dr. Hermann Hauser is one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, with a long history of founding companies in various (deep) technology sectors. These include Acorn Computers, ARM, world-leading in micro-processing technology found today in 95 percent of mobile phones, or Solexa (now Illumina), revolutionizing synthetic biology. He is also a key member of the Cambridge science and technology community and a trusted innovation advisor of the UK government and the European Union.

“We are deeply honored that Dr. Hermann Hauser has placed his trust in us by becoming a member of our Board of Advisors. He is a highly valued partner and companion for us who – like no one else– knows how to turn world-class science into disruptive new products and company growth. We are certain that he will provide important guidance as planqc scales its quantum computing platform and creates new products and solutions,” says Alexander Glätzle, CEO and co-founder of planqc.

Dr. Hauser has been closely watching the development of quantum computing technologies ever since Amadeus Capital Partners made its first investment in the field. “I am delighted to be joining the board of this exciting company. With its unique technology, planqc has a huge competitive advantage in scaling its quantum computers to ten-thousands of qubits. At the same time, planqc achieves superior gate fidelity by leveraging technology in the world’s best atomic clocks. I greatly look forward to working with this world-class team,” says Hauser.

The founding team builds on decades of groundbreaking research and technology development at Munich's Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ). The realization of the world’s first quantum simulator by the group of planqc advisor Immanuel Bloch laid the foundation for analog quantum computing more than 20 years ago. With the recently founded Munich Quantum Valley, the group is at the forefront of universal, digital quantum computing, realizing a neutral-atom-based quantum processor with up to 400 qubits encoded in strontium atoms. The consortium is led by MPQ and is funded by the German government and the state of Bavaria.

Using optical lattices, a technology pioneered in Munich, already today thousands of atoms can be trapped in a standing wave light pattern formed by a single laser beam. Quantum information is stored in electronic states of strontium atoms, the very same states that are used to build the world’s best atomic clocks due to their extraordinary long coherence times. This unique combination of quantum technologies has the potential to be one of the fastest ways to scale to thousands of qubits with superior gate fidelity, a prerequisite for industry-relevant quantum advantage.

planqc commercializes the neutral-atom quantum technologies developed within the Munich Quantum Valley. “Our ambitious goal is to realize a digital, fully programmable, and error-corrected quantum computer that can work outside of artificial laboratory environments,” says Sebastian Blatt, CTO and co-founder of planqc. Such a fully digital device will disrupt many industries, such as the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The quantum computer could help to design and upgrade catalysts, vital to all aspects of modern life: from making new medicines to developing new plastics. Another application example is the simulation of complex new materials required for developing batteries with higher performance, shorter charging times, and longer lifetimes.

Benjamin Erhart, General Partner at UVC Partners and one of planqc's early investors, says: “planqc is a shining example that we not only have excellent scientists in Germany, but also that joined efforts of start-ups and initiatives such as the Munich Quantum Valley are already bearing fruit. The fact that a world-leading venture capitalist such as Dr. Hermann Hauser is joining our endeavor underlines this. We hope that such a great collaboration will serve as a role model not only on a national level but also internationally as well as in other research areas to create a world we all want to live in.”

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About planqc

planqc is building quantum computers that store information in individual atoms – nature's best qubits. Quantum information is processed by arranging these qubits in highly scalable arrays and manipulating them with precisely controlled laser pulses. planqc’s unique combination of quantum technologies is the fastest way to scale to thousands of qubits, a prerequisite for industry-relevant quantum advantage. planqc was founded in April 2022 by Alexander Glätzle, Sebastian Blatt, Johannes Zeiher, Lukas Reichsöllner, together with Ann-Kristin Achleitner and Markus Wagner. planqc is based in Garching near Munich, Germany.

Learn more at www.planqc.eu

About Amadeus APEX Technology Fund

The Amadeus APEX Technology Fund is a partnership between Amadeus Capital Partners and APEX Ventures to support deep tech early-stage startups. The fund invests in seed and series A deep tech ventures with innovative technology and engineering based on significant scientific advances. Launched in early 2023, the €80M fund will invest in sectors that include artificial intelligence and machine learning; quantum technologies and photonics; mobility and space innovation; autonomous systems and robotics; and other emerging deep tech areas. The fund’s investment committee includes Amadeus Capital Partners’ Anne Glover, Hermann Hauser, and APEX Ventures’ Andreas Riegler and Wolfgang Neubert.

Learn more at www.apex.ventures/

About UVC Partners

UVC Partners is a leading Munich- and Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in European B2B tech start-ups from pre-seed to series A. With about €400 million assets under management, UVC Partners typically invests between €500,000 and €10 million initially and up to €30 million per company. The portfolio includes category leaders in deep tech, climate tech, hard- and software, and mobility with various technologies and business models. As an independent partner of UnternehmerTUM, Europe's most extensive innovation and startup center, UVC Partners has access to proprietary deal flow, an industrial network of more than 1,000 corporates, and access to talent from the leading European technical university. The investments include Flix, Vimcar, planqc, Tanso, Isar Aerospace, TWAICE, DeepDrive, STABL, and many more. They all benefit from the management team's extensive investment and exit experience, their ability to build sustainable category leaders with a competitive advantage, and their passion for growing the game changers of tomorrow.

Learn more at www.uvcpartners.com

About Speedinvest

Speedinvest is a leading early-stage venture capital firm with more than €1 billion AuM and 40+ investors based in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna. Our dedicated sector-focused teams are the first to fund Europe's most innovative technology startups and our in-house operational experts are on hand to offer founders ongoing support with growth, HR, market expansion, and more. Wefox, Bitpanda, TIER Mobility, GoStudent, Wayflyer, Open, CoachHub, Schüttflix, TourRadar, Adverity, and TWAICE are among our portfolio of 250+companies.

Learn more at www.speedinvest.com

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Photos of Hermann Hauser, the planqc founding team, and a lab photo can be found here.

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