Paris, June 20, 2024 -- C12, a French spin-off of the Physics Laboratory of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and a pioneer in the development of a carbon nanotube-based universal quantum computer, announces the closing of its second financing round of €18 million. This marks a new step in C12's development to accelerate the design of quantum processors. It brings together leading investors, Varsity Capital, EIC Fund and Verve Ventures, as well as historical investors including 360 Capital, Bpifrance through its Digital Venture fund and BNP Paribas Développement.

After raising $10 million in 2021, the startup has achieved a breakthrough in materials for building large-scale quantum computers. It has demonstrated both theoretically and empirically that its architecture - the closest realization of a single spin in vacuum - reduces all sources of noise that affect the quality of the qubit. At the end of October 2023, the company inaugurated a unique first production line for quantum processors in the heart of Paris: the Quantum Fab. Equipped with several production workshops, including a cleanroom for semiconductor chips, this pilot line will enable C12 to produce its first quantum products.

C12 has also been selected for the Proqcima program, launched in March 2024 by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces with the French Secretary General for Investment. It aims to have two French-designed prototypes of universal quantum computers by 2032.

These achievements enable C12 to pursue its mission to design and build a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. Thanks to a unique approach focused on the very high quality of its qubits, the company intends to play a leading role in the emergence of quantum computing as a new technological frontier. With this in mind, this new round of financing will allow C12 to accelerate its R&D work to achieve a world-first that enables scalability: the first high-fidelity quantum operation on two distant spin qubits connected by a communication bus.

Matthieu Desjardins, CTO and co-founder of C12 : "Our goal is to demonstrate long-distance entanglement between 2 qubits. This entanglement is at the heart of the quantum leap that will one day allow us to compute in a few seconds what today takes several years. This long-distance 2Q gate is therefore a major step forward in quantum technology.”

Launched in 2020 by the Desjardins brothers, C12 is a pioneer in the development of quantum computers capable of tackling immensely complex computational tasks beyond the reach of today's most powerful supercomputers. Using carbon nanotubes as the building blocks of its quantum processor, C12 introduces an ultra-pure material that minimizes errors and dramatically improves qubit quality. Today, C12 employs 45 people, including 22 PhDs and 18 nationalities, all driven by the same ambition: to make C12 a leader in quantum computing.