![Two men stand in front of a quantum computer. One holds a chip up to the camera.](https://www.siliconrepublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Alice-Bob-Founders-Series-B-Theau-Peronnin-and-Raphael-Lescanne.jpg)
Théau Peronnin and Raphaël Lescanne, founders, Alice & Bob. Image: Nil Hoppenot/Further Studio
The French start-up will use the funding on its journey to build the world’s first useful quantum computer by 2030.
Alice & Bob, the French quantum company founded in 2020, has raised €100m in its Series B funding round.
The company, founded by Dr Raphaël Lescanne and Dr Théau Peronnin, aims to create the first universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
The latest funding round was led by Future French Champions, AXA Venture Partners (AVP) and Bpifrance.
CEO Peronnin said the company is now entering a new phase of its journey, having established performance records with its own self-correcting quantum bit called the cat qubit.
Error correction is one of the biggest challenges facing quantum computing because qubits are so sensitive that various disturbances can lead to errors in their calculations. This issue becomes more severe as more qubits are added, which makes it a roadblock in scaling up quantum computers.
“Cat qubits are unique, as they make scaling quantum computers practical: where conventional approaches would require millions of qubits, we would need only thousands,” Peronnin said.
Last year, Alice & Bob received €16.5m in government funding, along with academic partners, to speed up the road to quantum computers. And in 2023, the company teamed up with Equinix to bring quantum computer tech to Ireland.
With the latest round of funding, the start-up aims to enhance the performance of its system, improve error correction and create its first error-corrected logical qubit.
It will also use the investment to continue the construction of a state-of-the-art lab and production facility as well as to expand its team.
François Robinet, managing partner of AVP, said the venture capital firm is proud to support Alice & Bob in its mission.
“We have been following the field of quantum computing for a long time at AVP and we are now convinced that quantum computing is leaving the pure R&D space and is entering into an ‘industrial’ phase to soon address ‘real-life’ use cases, thanks to the technology that Alice & Bob has been developing,” he said.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.