Bengaluru-based quantum computing startup Quanfluence has raised $10 million (around Rs 92 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by Chiratae Ventures. The round also saw participation from Rainmatter by Zerodha and existing investor Pi Ventures.
The company plans to use the new capital to develop its full-stack photonic quantum computing system, bringing its photonic chips, control electronics and software together into one platform.
Building India's Photonic Quantum Computing Platform
Founded in 2021 by Sujoy Chakravarty, Ravi Mehta, Biman Chattopadhyay, Aditi Vaidya, Anil Prabhaka and Sandeep Goyal, Quanfluence is working on a universal photonic quantum computer.
The startup is developing its own hardware and software instead of depending completely on external components. It is targeting early quantum processors by 2027, followed by larger and more scalable machines by 2029.
Quanfluence is incubated at IIT Madras and has already developed and commercialised an optical Ising machine, which uses light waves to solve complex optimisation problems.
Already Selling Quantum Systems
The startup's optical Ising machine can process hundreds of connected variables at the same time. Quanfluence says its system can be around 100 times faster than traditional optimisation methods for certain problems.
The company has already started generating revenue from the technology. It has sold around three machines and is currently running paid pilots with 10-15 companies.
Customers can either buy the physical systems or access the machines remotely through a usage-based model.
This gives Quanfluence a way to build commercial traction while it works on the much bigger challenge of developing a scalable universal quantum computer.
From Quantum Chips to Software
Since its previous funding round, Quanfluence has made progress across its technology stack.
The startup has designed and fabricated multiple photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and electronic integrated circuits (EICs). It has also developed low-loss chip-to-fibre coupling designs and demonstrated the generation of quantum light states.
The company now faces the next set of challenges, including integrating different components, scaling manufacturing and managing long chip-production and hardware-delivery timelines.
Quanfluence currently has a team of around 25 employees and plans to grow this to about 40 people over the next year.
Earlier Funding and Future Plans
Before the latest round, Quanfluence raised $2 million (around Rs 16.7 crore) in a seed round in December 2024. That funding was used to scale its near-term products and accelerate the development of its quantum computer.
With the new $10 million investment, the startup will now focus on taking its photonic quantum technology further and building systems that can eventually scale to much larger numbers of qubits.
Quantum computing is still at an early stage, with companies and researchers working to build machines capable of handling large commercial workloads. Quanfluence is betting on photonics as a way to address some of the scaling challenges in quantum computing.
India's Quantum Push
The funding comes as interest in India's deep-tech sector continues to grow. The country's National Quantum Mission is also helping create stronger connections between startups, researchers and government-backed quantum hubs.
Quanfluence's progress could add to India's growing quantum technology ecosystem, especially as the company works towards building a full-stack system with its own chips, electronics and software.
The immediate goal is to turn its existing commercial technology into a stronger foundation for larger quantum machines in the coming years.
Key Numbers
- $10 Mn (Rs 92 Cr) - Latest funding raised
- 2027 - Target for early quantum processors
- 100x - Claimed speed advantage of its optical Ising machine for certain optimisation problems
