Q.ANT, a Stuttgart-based deep-tech company pioneering photonic processing for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC), has expanded its Series A funding round to a total of $80 million following an additional investment from Duquesne Family Office, the investment firm of Stanley F. Druckenmiller.
This expansion marks the largest financing round for photonic computing in Europe. The capital will be used to accelerate commercialization of Q.ANT’s light-based processors, advance next-stage technology development, and support the company’s expansion into the U.S. market. As part of the partnership, Sue Meng, Managing Director at Duquesne Family Office, will join Q.ANT’s advisory board as an observer.
Duquesne Family Office joins an existing consortium of investors including Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners, imec.xpand, L-Bank, Verve Ventures, Grazia Equity, EXF Alpha of Venionaire Capital, LEA Partners, Onsight Ventures, and TRUMPF.
The rapid expansion of global AI infrastructure has placed semiconductor technology at the center of both economic and geopolitical competition. With global AI-related data center spending projected to exceed $5.2 trillion over the next five years, the demand for more energy-efficient computing solutions is becoming increasingly urgent. Q.ANT’s photonic processors aim to meet this challenge by computing natively with light, offering higher precision and speed at a fraction of the energy consumption of traditional electronic chips.
Q.ANT has developed the world’s first commercial photonic processor capable of handling real-world AI and HPC workloads, built on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) technology. Its Native Processing Server (NPS) can integrate directly into existing data centers as a plug-in co-processor, delivering up to 30 times greater energy efficiency and up to 50 times the performance gains of current systems, with the potential to increase data center capacity by as much as 100 times.
These processors achieve 16-bit floating-point accuracy while maintaining the advantages of analog computing, making Q.ANT the first company to combine precision, performance, and energy efficiency in one scalable computing platform.
Q.ANT’s Native Processing Server is already being evaluated by major supercomputing data centers. The system is fully compatible with existing AI software frameworks and programming languages, enabling seamless integration for enterprises seeking scalable, sustainable computing power. By 2030, Q.ANT aims to make photonic processing a cornerstone of global AI infrastructure, driving efficiency and sustainability at the foundation of data-driven progress.
KEY QUOTE:
“AI is pushing the limits of global resources – energy, hardware, and capital. At Q.ANT, we achieve performance through efficiency, not brute power alone, redefining how AI can scale. The Duquesne Family Office shares our conviction that sustainable computing will define the next era of progress.”
Dr. Michael Förtsch, Founder and CEO, Q.ANT
