ZuriQ Raises $25.5M Seed Round Led by Quantonation to Scale Native 2D Trapped-Ion Quantum Architecture

ZuriQ, a Swiss quantum computing company spun out of ETH Zürich, has raised $25.5 million (€22.4 million) in seed funding led by Quantonation to scale its native two-dimensional trapped-ion quantum processors. The round, which follows a $4.2 million pre-seed in 2025, also includes participation from Forward.one, Extantia, Firgun Ventures, and all previous investors. The capital will support team expansion, research and development, and acceleration of chip fabrication aimed at placing hundreds of qubits on a single chip.

Native Two-Dimensional Ion Trap Design

Most trapped-ion quantum computers rely on one-dimensional ion chains connected through complex junctions. ZuriQ instead employs Penning micro-traps combined with a static magnetic field to create natively two-dimensional arrays. This approach replaces the rapidly oscillating electric fields of conventional designs, allowing ions to move freely in three dimensions without junction constraints. Geometry becomes the scaling advantage: ion count grows with chip area rather than linearly along a chain, potentially enabling thousands of ions on a standard chip instead of tens.

In collaboration with researchers at ETH Zürich and under the scientific advice of Professor Jonathan Home, the company developed a working demonstrator in fewer than 18 months. The device comprises a 3×3 array of nine individually controlled ions and is presented as the largest two-dimensional array of its kind demonstrated to date. Underlying chips are fabricated by manufacturing partner Infineon using established industrial processes, providing a direct path toward manufacturable processors.

Team Growth and Processor Scaling Plans

Since its previous financing, ZuriQ has grown from four to eighteen employees and attracted talent from organizations including IonQ, Xanadu, and Hamamatsu. Co-founders Dr. Pavel Hrmo (CEO), Dr. Tobias Sägesser, and Dr. Shreyans Jain originated the company from the ETH Zürich laboratory of Professor Jonathan Home. The new capital will expand the research program, support further hiring, and accelerate chip fabrication so that processors can support hundreds of qubits, with a longer-term target of the thousands required for industrially useful quantum computing.

Christophe Jurczak, Founding Partner at Quantonation, emphasized that significant physics advances remain available in quantum architectures and that the scientific caliber of the ZuriQ team has enabled rapid recruitment of global talent. Dr. Pavel Hrmo noted that the architecture is two-dimensional from the ground up, allowing qubit numbers to grow more readily than systems built on legacy one-dimensional blueprints, and that the funding converts technical momentum into commercial scale.

Bottom Line

ZuriQ’s seed funding advances a 2D-native trapped-ion architecture designed to overcome linear scaling limits of conventional designs.

Find out more here.

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