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The quantum race no longer runs on a single track. While the US doubles down on superconducting qubits behind IBM and Google, Europe is building a different quantum future across photonics, neutral atoms, trapped ions and silicon spin qubits — and the split is starting to harden into strategy.
The latest McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor 2026 makes the subtext explicit. The hype cycle is over. Funding has cooled but stabilised structurally above pre-2020 levels. Benchmarks are shifting from raw qubit counts to error rates and logical qubits. Real value is starting to concentrate in communication, vertical applications and system integration. An architecture and infrastructure race has begun — and the playbook is no longer obvious.
Below, we walk through five takeaways from the report and the five mid-stage European startups making the case that the continent is running a different race, not a lagging one.
Many of the founders building this quantum future will be in Berlin next week at Deep Tech Momentum 2026 (20–21 May) — alongside the corporate buyers, growth investors and policymakers shaping where European quantum capital actually flows.
Also in this issue:
Why Europe's next category leaders — Mistral, Helsing, Axelera — are scaling through partnerships, and how to plug in.
NZZ on your phone: Switzerland's deep tech desk, in your pocket.
The Singapore route into Southeast Asia, and what European founders can do with it.
Where German science becomes companies — front and centre on 20–21 May.
Enjoy the read!
DTM | INVITATION
Europe's Deep Tech & AI Is Compounding
Europe’s deep tech momentum is increasingly built through partnerships.
Mistral is now working with the French government on sovereign AI infrastructure. Helsing continues expanding its defence partnerships across Europe. And industrial robotics startups across Germany and France are already deploying with major manufacturing players.
Europe’s next category leaders are scaling through strategic collaboration.
Capital is following fast. AI chip company Axelera AI recently raised another $250M to expand Europe’s AI infrastructure stack. Again: Defence startup Helsing is reportedly preparing a new multi-billion-dollar round. Across energy, robotics, AI and advanced manufacturing, European founders are attracting serious institutional capital again.
But none of this happens without the right network. Customers, investors, policymakers, operators — deep tech scales through trusted relationships and long-term ecosystems.
That’s what Deep Tech Momentum is designed for. DTM connects Europe’s most ambitious founders with corporates, investors and decision-makers actively shaping the future of industry, defence, energy and AI. From venture clienting to investor matchmaking and strategic ecosystem building — partnerships start here.
You can become a part of it, form your own terrific partnerships: Deep Tech Momentum 2026 takes place May 20 to 21 in Berlin, bringing together Europe’s leading deep tech founders, investors, corporates and policymakers.
If you want to raise capital, meet customers, build partnerships and stay ahead of where Europe is heading — this is where you need to be.
DEEP TECH OPEN | QUANTUM
Europe’s Top 5 Startups building Non-Superconducting Quantum Architectures | Mid-Stage (€17m-140m)
Pasqal | Palaiseau, France
Technology: Neutral atom quantum computing using laser-controlled arrays of atoms as qubits, enabling scalable analog and digital quantum processing.
Customers: Research institutions, HPC centers, defense programs, and early industrial partners.
Use cases: Optimization problems, quantum simulation (materials, chemistry), machine learning research.
Funding: Raised over €140M in March 2026; backed by European Innovation Council and strategic investors.
Why it matters: Neutral atoms offer a credible path to scaling without the engineering overhead of superconducting systems—positioning Europe in a fundamentally different race, not a lagging one.
→ One of Pasqal’s co-founders, Alain Aspect, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational work on quantum entanglement
Quandela | Paris, France
Technology: Photonic quantum computing using single-photon sources and linear optics, operating closer to room temperature conditions.
Customers: Cloud providers, research labs, and enterprise R&D teams via quantum-as-a-service platforms.
Use cases: Quantum simulation, machine learning, secure communications, hybrid HPC workflows.
Funding: Raised ~€50M in 2023 with participation of Serena, Credit Mutuel Innovation, and the European Innovation Council Fund, Bpifrance 1, OMNES Capital and Quantonation.
Why it matters: Photonics removes one of quantum’s biggest bottlenecks—extreme cooling—making it one of the most viable architectures for integration into existing compute infrastructure.
Quobly | Grenoble, France
Technology: Silicon spin qubits built on FD-SOI semiconductor processes, enabling quantum chips manufactured with existing CMOS infrastructure.
Customers: Semiconductor ecosystem players, research institutions, future quantum hardware integrators.
Use cases: Scalable quantum processors, hybrid quantum-classical chips, industrial fabrication of qubits.
Funding: Quobly has secured €21M ( $23.7M) in May 2025 including a €15M ($17M) grant from Bpifrance
Why it matters: Quobly represents one of the clearest paths to industrial-scale quantum manufacturing in Europe—leveraging the continent’s semiconductor base instead of competing head-on with US superconducting stacks.
→ Founded in 2022, the company’s technology is based on research from CEA (the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) and CNRS (the National Centre for Scientific Research).
AQT (Alpine Quantum Technologies) | Innsbruck, Austria
Technology: Trapped-ion quantum computers delivered as on-premise systems and cloud-accessible machines.
Customers: High-performance computing centers, research institutions, and government-backed quantum programs.
Use cases: Quantum simulation, algorithm development, hybrid HPC integration.
Funding: Raised ~€20M+ including support from European public funding through the European Innovation Council Accelerator (EIC-Accelerator) recommends AQT for a grant of EUR 2.5 million in combination with equity investments through the EIC Fund.
Why it matters: AQT is one of the few players delivering deployable systems today, positioning Europe strongly in early quantum infrastructure rollouts.
SemiQon | Espoo, Finland
Technology: Silicon-based spin qubits leveraging CMOS-compatible fabrication, enabling quantum chips built with existing semiconductor processes.
Customers: Semiconductor ecosystem players, research labs, and future quantum hardware integrators.
Use cases: Scalable quantum processors, integration with classical chips, low-temperature electronics.
Funding: Raised ~€17M in February 20205 backed by Nordic and European deep tech investors.
Why it matters: Silicon qubits offer the clearest path to industrial-scale manufacturing—if successful, this approach collapses the gap between quantum and the existing semiconductor supply chain.
→ SemiQon spun out from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
THE PULSE
Quantum on the Commercial Tipping Point
Source:McKinsey Quantum Technology Monitor 2026: A commercial tipping point
Quantum is no longer theoretical—it is entering its first commercial phase, unevenly but decisively.
The latest Quantum Technology Monitor 2026 by McKinsey & Company aggregates global data across startups, funding, patents, and enterprise adoption signals. It tracks the transition from research-driven progress to early commercial deployment, with a strong focus on where value is actually emerging across computing, communication, and sensing.
Here’s 5 key take-aways:
Investment has cooled—but not collapsed
After the 2021–2022 peak, quantum funding declined, but remains structurally above pre-2020 levels.
Early-stage rounds still dominate deal flow, while late-stage capital has become more selective. The signal: capital is shifting from hype to technical conviction. Startups without clear architecture or roadmap differentiation are struggling to raise follow-on rounds.
Hardware progress is real—but still pre-fault-tolerant
Qubit counts continue to increase, but the more important metric is improving: error rates and coherence times.
The report emphasizes that logical qubits—not physical qubits—are the true milestone, and we are still early. Most systems remain in the NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) phase, with fault tolerance not expected before the 2030s in most scenarios.
Quantum communication is closer to market than computing
While quantum computing dominates headlines, quantum communication (especially QKD) is already seeing deployment.
Governments and critical infrastructure players are driving adoption, particularly in Europe and Asia. This creates a near-term revenue layer that computing lacks.
Enterprise adoption is moving from pilots to targeted use cases
Over 70% of surveyed companies are exploring quantum, but only a small subset has moved beyond experimentation.
The shift: from broad experimentation to focused, high-value use cases, especially in:
Chemicals & materials
Financial optimization
Mobility & logistics
The implication: horizontal platforms are losing ground to verticalized applications.
The geopolitical race is intensifying
Public funding now exceeds private investment in several regions.
The US, China, and Europe are all investing heavily, but with different models:
US: private-sector led (Big Tech dominance)
China: state-driven, opaque but aggressive
Europe: hybrid model with strong public funding and research base
The report underscores that quantum is becoming strategic infrastructure, not just a technology bet.
DTM OPPORTUNITIES
European Deep Tech, Daily
In partnership with Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
The NZZ app
The NZZ app puts Switzerland's main daily on a phone. The «Neue Zürcher Zeitung» covers European politics, technology, science, energy and finance, and is one of the few large German-language papers that treats deep tech as a beat rather than a side topic. Supported by an extensive global correspondent network, the app delivers in-depth reporting from Switzerland, Germany, and beyond.
The app carries the full daily edition, the «NZZ am Sonntag» weekend paper, the Wissenschaft and Technologie verticals, and the Quantensprung archive in a single feed. Push notifications can be configured by topic, which means you can opt into European industrial policy and skip the opera reviews.
For non-German readers, the app includes sections in English, French, and Italian with a daily selection of NZZ's most important reporting. While the app is a premium experience for subscribers, it remains the most efficient way to bring a Swiss editorial perspective into your professional workflow.
Free to download. Access requires an NZZ subscription; selected audio and newsletter formats offer a preview into the NZZ ecosystem.
Startup Berlin x Deep Tech Momentum
At Deep Tech Momentum Berlin, we bring together founders, researchers, investors and institutions shaping the future of deep tech. A strong ecosystem needs strong connectors - and Startup Berlin is one of them.
Powered by the State of Berlin and Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, Startup Berlin offers direct access to Berlin’s startup landscape: from curated ecosystem insights and events to practical support for founders, scale‑ups and talent.
Meet them on site
Just look out for the “We are Berlin” shirts and enjoy a free coffee at the Startup Berlin booth and start a conversation.
They’re happy to support you if you:
plan to expand your startup to Berlin
are looking for talent
want to better understand Berlin’s deep tech ecosystem
Stay connected and follow Startup Berlin on LinkedIn.
Building deep tech requires strong places, strong networks - and the people who connect them.
DTM | SPONSORED BY
The Other End of the Deep Tech Map
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is the government agency behind Singapore's transformation into one of the world's most strategic deep tech hubs - and a gateway through which European founders can enter the wider Southeast Asian market. From dual-use and AI to quantum, advanced materials, and robotics, Singapore EDB has been building the infrastructure that turns a Singapore landing into accelerated global growth.
Singapore’s startup ecosystem is valued at €184 billion and is ranked as 4th globally by research platform StartupBlink , reflecting strong investor confidence and market maturity. Co-innovation platforms connect research institutes, universities, startups, and corporates to accelerate commercial outcomes. The ecosystem is anchored by more than 4,500 early-stage companies, over 220 incubators and accelerators, and a dynamic mix of corporates, researchers, and investors. This concentration of activity enables companies to connect, collaborate, and innovate at speed.
The Singapore EDB team supports European founders, startups, and investors planning their Asia chapter and next phase of growth. They'll be at DTM26 hosting sessions on what it really takes to build from Singapore into wider Southeast Asia.
🇩🇪 The Engine Room of German Deep Tech
Germany's two flagship deep tech startup programmes — EXIST and the Digital Hub Initiative (de:hubs) — will be in Berlin on 20–21 May, exhibiting under one roof at the Startup Germany booth, positioned front and centre at Wilhelm Studios.
Both are programmes of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and together they represent the engine room of German deep tech commercialisation.
🎓 EXIST turns world-class science into companies. Since 1998, it has backed students, researchers, and scientists from German universities and research institutions to translate breakthrough research into market-ready ventures.
These EXIST startups will be pitching on the DTM100 stage:
→ Conformally — ultra-thin, PFAS-free polymer coatings for electronics, semiconductors and medtech
→ Porelio — removing PFAS from water and recovering valuable metals
→ AutonomIQ — AI software turning CAD designs into ready-to-run CNC programs
Also exhibiting from EXIST:
→ Factor4Solutions — AI system manager cutting industrial cooling energy use by up to 75%
→ aerotill — air-lubricated plow tech cutting tilling traction and diesel use by 40%
→ 10x autonomy — AI validation stack for autonomous system development
→ LYLife — biomarker-driven longevity platform for high-performance individuals
→ Flexora — printed organic sensor films for industrial monitoring and predictive maintenance
→ Liontech Instruments — ML-based hardware security against memory-level malware
→ Renatrix — tissue-specific ECM biomaterials for realistic cell cultures
🌐 de:hubs is Germany's largest innovation network. Launched in 2017, it now spans 25+ hubs nationwide, connecting thousands of startups with corporates and research institutions across AI, DeepTech, FinTech, GreenTech, Health, Smart Manufacturing and beyond.
These startups from de:hubs will be pitching on the DTM100 stage:
→ elementarhy — iridium-free, PFAS-free PEM electrolyzer membranes, cutting cost barriers by 95%+
→ kausable — reasoning-first AI built on causal world models, not LLMs
Also exhibiting from de:hubs:
→ All About Accuracy — radio-based localization chips with mm-level precision for robotics
→ Coher Sense — compact fiber-optic sensor measuring laser intensity, wavelength and bandwidth
→ CYNiO — phosgene-free specialty isocyanates made from CO2
→ em solutions — high-efficiency electric motors with novel winding architectures
→ MAFiS — precision magnetic field sensors for industry, aerospace and research
→ Peeriot — low-code peer-to-peer industrial IoT software stack
→ Puray — antimicrobial-light urinary catheters preventing hospital infections
Also on stage: Federal Ministers Dorothee Bär (Research, Technology and Space) and Karsten Wildberger (Digital Affairs and State Modernisation) will both speak at DTM26, co-chairing the closed-door CXO Summit on 20 May. Franziska Giffey, Berlin's Senator for Economic Affairs and Mayor, will preside over the Deep Tech Awards.
If you're building, buying, deploying or investing in German deep tech, the Startup Germany booth is where to start your DTM26 walkthrough.
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Become a Guardian of European Deep Tech: Are you a senior leader seeking commercial partnerships with Europe’s leading Deep Tech startups and SMEs? Successful applicants join Deep Tech Momentum’s Guardian network, receiving complimentary VIP access to our flagship event in May. Apply here.
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— Isabelle and Martin
Co-Founders, DTM
