Quantcore, a University of Glasgow spin-out, has raised £2.5m in a seed round co-led by PXN Ventures, Blackfinch Ventures and Scottish Enterprise, with participation from Quantum Exponential and STAC. It is building a sovereign supply chain for quantum hardware as the United Kingdom develops domestic capability in technologies linked to national security and economic competitiveness.
Operating from the University of Glasgow’s James Watt Nanofabrication Centre, it designs, manufactures and tests superconducting processors, resonators and sensors used in quantum computers and advanced sensing systems. It is the only company in the United Kingdom manufacturing niobium-based components, which can operate at higher temperatures than aluminium, allowing customers including UK national laboratories to save energy and scale the use of quantum components.
Its quantum sensors enable secure communications and accuracy in medical imaging beyond classical technologies, with applications across neuroscience, early disease detection, secure infrastructure and fundamental physics.
Following the investment, it plans to grow its team from four to 12 employees over the next 18 months, adding engineering roles across design, manufacturing and cryogenic testing alongside non-technical hires to support its commercial strategy.
The investment follows the UK government’s pledge to invest £670m into quantum computing as part of its 10-year modern industrial strategy, with the global quantum computing market projected to reach $20.2 billion by 2030. It was founded in August 2025 and was part of the first cohort of deep tech startups in the University of Glasgow’s Infinity G accelerator programme, led by STAC.
This technology is extremely powerful. One of the main features of quantum computers is that they will be really good at cracking codes. So, as a country, you have to ask: do you want to wait until other countries have this capability, or do you want to get there first? The world is not what it was. If you want this technology, which you do, you need to be able to manufacture it domestically so you can control every part of it. That’s what we’re building from Scotland. Classical computers are hitting a plateau as silicon reaches its limits. We’re entering a new paradigm based on fundamental physics, and it’s coming whether we like it or not. There’s no reason all the advanced tech in the UK has to be in London, Cambridge, and Oxford. Why not build it here?
