DTXL invests in quantum scale up Delft Circuits in round of €6.3 Million

Scale up Delft Circuits is a high-tech supplier in the emerging quantum industry. Its unique cabling platform Cri/oFlex® uses thin flexible superconducting circuits for data transfer into the quantum system. This is a critical driver in scaling up quantum technologies, and Cri/oFlex® was recently referenced by DARPA^[1] as the world’s state of the art.

Delft Circuits has delivered hundreds of Cri/oFlex® cabling solutions worldwide. Its customer base ranges from global Blue chip corporations active in quantum, leading national laboratories, universities, start- and scale-ups and government agencies, such as NASA^[2]. Originating as the first quantum computing startup from the Delft-based quantum hub, which emerged around QuTech^[3], Delft Circuits has now more than 40 employees, 400 square meters^[4] of (cleanroom) fabrication floorspace and delivers its products to five continents.

Together with current investors, which includes the seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds^[5], they announce a series A investment of 6.3 M€ in Delft Circuits, of which DTXL contributes 5 M€ for upgrading and further upscaling of the production capacity and organisation of Delft Circuits.

Guus Frericks, founder and managing partner of DTXL said: “We are thrilled to partner with Delft Circuits, a trailblazing company in the quantum computing industry. Their cryogenic cable technology platform represents a pivotal step towards unlocking the full potential of quantum computing, and we are excited to be a part of this groundbreaking journey.”

With DTXL^[6] – a 100 M€ deep tech venture capital fund – Delft Circuits has found a partner to accelerate its growth in the quantum industry. Deep Tech XL is backed by partners such as ASML^[7], Philips^[8], PME pension fund^[9], RVO Seed Capital^[10], and others. Thereby, DTXL is deeply embedded in the Eindhoven-based network of world leading high-tech hub around ASML and Philips, known as Brainport^[11]. The investment will be used primarily to upgrade the production capacity and to finance the necessary growth of the team.

Sal Jua Bosman, founder of Delft Circuits said: “As a child I had a vintage Philips product collection and had the ambition to start an electronics factory. Fast forward nearly three decades, we have built a quantum electronics supplier providing many leading players in the quantum field and beyond, such as NASA. That now childhood industry icons such as Philips and ASML indirectly join our company makes my journey full circle. A new chapter for Delft Circuits has begun and we can now get ready to boast the quantum industry with our products and work.”

With this partnership Delft Circuits has the backing with capital, know how, and network, from the strong Europeanbased global hub of high-tech players. The involvement of major players in the semiconductor industry, will not only accelerate Delft Circuits and its customers, but is a critical development for the quantum industry. The combination of funding and hands-on support will allow Delft Circuits to scale up its operations and expand the Cri/oFlex® technology platform. In the next generation cutting edge quantum systems, cabling is becoming a massive bottleneck, of which Delft Circuit’s technology is uniquely positioned to tackle.

Daan Kuitenbrouwer, co-founder of Delft Circuits said: “The race for quantum advantage is on – we see an increase in the number- and quality of companies bringing quantum computing to the market. Consequently, such companies want to focus on their core products and seek to buy (rather than build) integrated, high quality and highly scalable cabling solutions. Delft Circuits is the leading supplier of such integrated cabling systems which are intrinsically scalable. Our new partners will help us scale up so we can enable even more of our customers to bringing quantum computing to the market!”

Nearly all quantum technologies, such as quantum computing, communication and sensing, require the cooperation of electronics at cryogenic (extremely cold) temperatures and room temperature. These quantum systems require massive data transfers (i/o – input/output) between the cold part and the warm parts of the system. When the quantum industry was still in its infancy in 2016, Delft Circuits started pioneering its Cri/oFlex® technology to enable the massive scaling of data transfer over the thermal bridge.    

Instead of using separate coaxial cables and microwave components, Delft Circuits integrates all circuitry on ultrathin, multi-layer flexible superconducting circuits using technologies known from the semiconductor industry. This reduces the mechanical parts per i/o channel by a factor of 20, and thus its points of failure and costs. Also, it massively reduces the required volume and heat transfer of the cabling. Together, Delft Circuits and its Cri/oFlex® platform are uniquely positioned to power the scaling of quantum technologies into the next steps towards thousands of quantum bits.