Quantinuum Ltd., a quantum computing company majority-owned by Honeywell International Inc., today announced that it has closed $300 million in funding.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the investment. It was joined by Honeywell, Tokyo-based industrial giant Mitsui & Co. and biotechnology company Amgen Inc. The investment closed at a pre-money valuation of $5 billion.

The company emerged in 2021 from the merger of Honeywell’s quantum computing unit and CQC Ltd., a U.K.-based startup competitor. It offers a family of quantum computers known as the H-Series. The newest system in the lineup, the System Model H2, debuted last March and features 32 qubits.

Quantinuum’s computers are based on what’s known as a trapped-ion design. They use ytterbium ions, or charged atoms, as qubits. The H2 (pictured) leverages lasers to encode data into those qubits, configure them to carry out calculations and extract the results. 

The machine stores its ions in a refrigerated container that is divided into four so-called interaction zones. To carry out calculations, the H2 uses its built-in lasers to move multiple qubits into the same interaction zone and link them together. The linked qubits function as a gate, a type of basic circuit capable of carrying out simple computing operations.

Quantinuum says that the H2 provides the industry’s highest two-qubit gate fidelity. This is a metric that measures the reliability with which a quantum computer can carry out calculations. Because current qubit implementations are highly prone to errors, improving quantum computers’ reliability is a major priority for researchers.  

The company offers its quantum hardware alongside several complementary software products. The first, InQuanto, enables scientists to harness qubits for chemistry research. It also offers a software suite called Quantum Origin that promises to help enterprises enhance the security of their encryption keys.

Lead investor JPMorgan Chase is also one of its most important customers. The financial services giant uses a Quantinuum computer to support internal research efforts. The quantum computer developer’s installed base also includes several other major enterprises including Airbus SE, BMW Group AG and Mitsui.

Quantinuum will use the new capital to support its quantum hardware development efforts. Additionally, it plans to invest a portion of the funding in enhancing its software portfolio with the goal of improving “commercial applicability.

“The confidence in our business demonstrated through this investment by our longstanding strategic partners and industry leaders is a clear indication of the value we will continue to create,” said Quantinuum Chief Executive Rajeeb Hazra. 

The investment comes a few months after Oxford Ionics Ltd., another startup building trapped-ion quantum computers, raised $30 million in funding. The round included the participation of Arm Holdings plc founder Hermann Hauser and other prominent investors. Oxford Ionics coordinates the ion-based qubits in its computers not using lasers like Quantinuum, but rather a combination of photonics and microwaves that it claims is more reliable.

Photo: Quantinuum