Alice & Bob, French quantum startup, raises €100m

Alice & Bob founders Théau Peronnin and Raphael Lescanne

Paris-based quantum computing startup Alice & Bob announced a raise of €100 million in its Series B funding round, led by Future French Champions (FFC), AVP (AXA Venture Partners) and Bpifrance.

FFC is a partnership between QIA and Bpifrance.

The funding will accelerate Alice & Bob’s plan to build the world’s first useful quantum computer by 2030.

“Having established performance records with our cat qubits, Alice & Bob now enters a new phase focused on building a quantum computer that can deliver valuable results,” said Théau Peronnin, CEO of Alice & Bob.

“Cat qubits are unique, as they make scaling quantum computers practical: where conventional approaches would require millions of qubits, we would need only thousands.”

Alice & Bob said: “At the center of cat qubits’ hardware-efficiency is the inherent suppression of bit-flip errors, one of the two types of errors that plague quantum computers.

“This property is key to enabling more efficient architectures for Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers (FTQCs) that resist errors and can be used in real-world applications.

“Alice & Bob is the only player developing quantum computers exclusively with this type of qubit, which the company has pioneered since its inception in 2020.”

All Series A investors — Elaia Partners, Breega, Supernova Invest and Bpifrance — returned for the Series B round, joined by new institutional investors, FFC, AVP, and the EIC (European Innovation Council).

Alice & Bob will use the funding to enhance the performance of its system, improve error correction, and create its first error-corrected logical qubit.

Nearly half of the funds will be used to finance the ongoing construction of a state-of-the-art lab and production facility, and additional funds will be used to further expand the team, which has doubled in the past year.

Elie Girard, Executive Chairman of Alice & Bob, said: “Quantum computing is poised to transform industries, but the engineering complexity has remained a major hurdle.

“Alice & Bob’s cat qubit innovation offers a clear path forward, combining efficiency and reliability to unlock quantum’s full potential. This funding allows for Alice & Bob to continue to grow as a company and leading player in the industry.”