British Patient Capital contributes £6.7 million to Oxford Quantum Circuits’ £38 million Series A funding round
Press release
Today, British Patient Capital announces it has invested £6.7 million into Oxford Quantum Circuits’ (OQC) £38 million Series A funding round through its Future Fund: Breakthrough (FF:B) programme.
Deeptech is a focus area for the FF:B programme, with BPC seeing quantum computing as a future technology which has the potential to revolutionise a multitude of sectors, cementing the UK’s position at the forefront of global innovation. OQC is one of the UK’s leading quantum computing as-a-service companies, and the only company outside North America to be actively offering its technology via Amazon Braket.
This Series A round is co-led by one of Europe’s leading investment firms, Lansdowne Partners, and Japan’s largest deep tech venture capital fund, the University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) with participation from existing investors including Oxford Science Enterprises and Oxford Investment Consultants.
Funds from the Series A round will be used to accelerate technology research and development, fuelling OQC’s expansion into the APAC region via the Japanese market, particularly targeting financial services which are eager to utilise innovative quantum computing. Funds will also be used to scale the company’s quantum systems further, boosting its private computing as-a-service option and consolidating its position in EMEA.
OQC launched its latest system, Lucy, on Amazon Braket on February of this year, making it the first European quantum company on AWS. The Coaxmon, OQC’s patented 3D architecture, solves one of the core challenges in scaling up superconducting quantum computers.
The UK has long been at the forefront of global technology developments and through our Future Fund: Breakthrough programme, British Patient Capital is supporting innovative businesses that can drive growth in the longer term. Our support of Oxford Quantum Circuits exemplifies our continued commitment to ensuring the UK stays at the forefront of deeptech innovation. The sphere of quantum computing is a vital link in the chain of technological, scientific, and business advancement, from breakthroughs to better business modelling across the board. We are excited to help fund Oxford Quantum Computing’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific regions, allowing this new frontier in technology to develop even further through exposure to the global market. - Judith Hartley CEO, British Patient Capital
With this initial close we are already announcing the UK’s largest Series A in quantum computing. It demonstrates the confidence of our investors in our ability to lead the quantum industry and deliver our ambitious technology roadmap. This investment is testament to the significant progress we have achieved in recent months, thanks to our world-class team. It is also the first step in our international expansion, truly bringing quantum to our customers’ fingertips. - Ilana Wisby CEO of OQC
Further Information
Notes to editors
About British Patient Capital
British Patient Capital is the trading name of British Patient Capital Limited, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. It forms part of the British Business Bank’s plc’s commercial arm.
Its mission is to enable long-term investment in innovative firms led by ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build large scale businesses. Launched in June 2018, British Patient Capital has £2.5 billion to invest over 10 years in venture and venture growth capital to support high growth potential innovative UK businesses in accessing the long-term financing they require to scale up. Find out more at britishpatientcapital.co.uk.
British Business Bank plc and its subsidiary entities are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.
British Patient Capital makes commitments and invests on its own behalf and on behalf of third-party investors whose investments British Patient Capital manages.
This investment from British Patient Capital does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Patient Capital, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.
About Oxford Quantum Circuits
OQC is Europe’s leading quantum computing company. We bring quantum to our customers’ fingertips and enable them to make breakthrough discoveries. Our quantum computers are available via private cloud and on Amazon Braket.
About Lansdowne
Lansdowne Partners is a European headquartered investment manager operating a diversified range of actively managed equity strategies. Founded in 1998, the firm manages assets on behalf of some of the world’s most sophisticated investors and institutions including leading pension funds, banks, endowments, charities, insurance companies and family offices. Lansdowne seeks to deliver superior long-term investment returns and exceptional service to clients. In addition to the firm’s own stable of funds, Lansdowne will, on occasion, partner with new and established management firms to provide access to their best-in-class operational infrastructure.
About UTEC
The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, Inc. (UTEC) is the largest venture capital fund focused on science and technology in Japan, and one of the largest deep tech funds in Asia. Since its inception in 2004, UTEC has been investing in startups that aim to solve global issues of humankind, by bringing together capital, talent, and knowledge; around science and technology. By partnering with academia in Japan and abroad such as the University of Tokyo, UTEC has provided hands-on support to a wide range of startups from seed / early stages with strengths in science and technology. UTEC has invested in over 140 Japanese and Global startups with a track record of 17 IPOs & 14 M&As.
About Oxford Science Enterprises
Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE) is a Science Business Builder, committed to helping solve the world’s toughest problems for more people, in more places, faster. The company does this by transforming world-leading science into world-changing businesses, partnering the best scientists from the world’s best university with the best business brains. Oxford Science Enterprises grows its companies with care and expertise, investing for real-world impact, not only financial returns, and re-investing proceeds back into the next generation of original research and world-changing businesses. Since 2015, the company has received an automatic stake in all Oxford University science spinouts – and has taken a leading role in creating and building enterprises that address problems that affect people in life-changing ways: their health, the availability of food, the survival of the planet.
About Oxford Investment Consultants
Oxford Investment Consultants backs extraordinary founders turning scientific research into products addressing the world’s greatest challenges. The OIC team has decades of investment experience, partnering with transformative biotech, healthcare and deeptech companies from Oxford University and other world-leading UK research institutions.
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