IQM develops quantum computing solutions to tackle previously unsolvable problems in many different fields. Its world-class team has won the trust of several investors both locally in Finland and internationally.
IQM is an emerging and exciting deeptech company from Finland. This spin-out from Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre is developing quantum computing solutions for a variety of practical applications.
“Our quantum computing technology allows the solving of tasks that would take thousands or even millions of years to solve with classical computers. The goal is to build quantum solutions that are actually practical to utilize in many different fields, from e.g. academic research and the medical industry to cloud computing and finance”, says Jan Goetz, CEO at IQM.
International know-how based in Finland
Goetz got his PhD in quantum physics Munich, but eventually his academic pursuits led him to Finland. An opening in Mikko Möttönen’s research group at Aalto eventually turned into the quantum hardware leader known as IQM. IQMs CTO Kuan Tan was previously working in the same group, which is part of Aalto’s quantum ecosystem where also COO Juha Vartiainen was working before joining software industry.
“We operate from Finland partly because all founding members were already doing their work and research here. However, Finland also has excellent infrastructure to support working with quantum and nano technologies”, Goetz explains.
While IQM is based in Finland, its team is very international.
“We have people from all continents, and there are around 15 nationalities represented in our staff of 30-something people. Diversity is always good, and it helps us approach tasks and problems in different ways”, Goetz continues.
Investors offer capital and mentoring
In early 2019, IQM closed a seed funding round of 11.2 million euros. In addition to funding, IQM also benefits greatly from the experience of its investors Matadero QED, Maki.vc, MIG Funds, OpenOcean, Vito Ventures and Tesi.
“We have several investors from different backgrounds, each with their own style and flavor. There is a lot of knowledge there on running both software and hardware businesses, and we’ve been lucky enough to leverage it on occasion”, Goetz says.
Naturally, IQM also brings a lot to the table for the investors with their strong scientific background and high-level technology. From Tesi’s point of view, three things in particular persuaded it to partner up with IQM.
“Firstly, IQM has a world-class team and a background in an ecosystem that has produced successful companies before. Secondly, their solutions have a massive potential to be truly impactful, so it’s exciting to see what we can achieve even after the investment window. Lastly, while Europe is very strong in scientific research, US and China have traditionally been better in commercializing innovations. We believe that both Finland and Europe have what it takes to bring successful solutions to market, and we want to be a part of making that happen”, says Tony Nysten, Investment Manager at Tesi.
In the main photo: Tony Nysten and Jan Goetz.
Photos: Aleksandra Okolo-Kulak
Jan Goetz
Who he is: A quantum physicist and CEO of IQM.
Education: PhD, Technical University Munich. Doctoral thesis: The Interplay of Superconducting Quantum Circuits and Propagating Microwave States.
Experience: Jan’s strong experience in superconducting circuits is partly based on his past research in QCD Labs at Aalto University and in Walther-Meissner-Institute at Technical University of Munich campus.
IQM
What it is: A quantum computing company based in Espoo, Finland. A spin-out of Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Center of Finland. Founders CEO Jan Goetz, Chief Scientist Mikko Möttönen, COO Juha Vartiainen and CTO Kuan Yen Tan.
What it does: Builds scalable hardware for universal quantum computers, focusing on superconducting technology.
Investors: Maki.vc, Matadero QED, MIG Funds, Open Ocean, Tesi and Vito Ventures.
Website: meetiqm.com