Firgun backs Photonic from its $250m fund

Firgun Ventures, a London-based specialist investor in quantum technology, has made the first investment from its $250 million fund, backing Canadian quantum computing company Photonic.

The deal connects a newly formed UK fund with a Vancouver-headquartered business involved in US government research programmes, including projects supported by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Photonic is also among the quantum computing companies DARPA has identified as having a credible route to large-scale systems.

Photonic was co-founded by Dr Stephanie Simmons, who was named to the UNESCO 2025 International Year of Quantum 100. The company has positioned itself around an architectural approach it calls "Entanglement First".

Cross-border focus

The investment builds on Photonic's existing ties to the UK. The company previously announced a GBP £25 million investment in a UK research and development centre.

Firgun described the investment as part of a cross-border strategy spanning the UK and Canada, and expects international partnerships to play a defining role in building leading quantum companies.

Firgun is led by Dr Kris Naudts and Zeynep Koruturk. Both have also been angel investors in Cambridge Quantum Computing, which later became Quantinuum. Firgun has said Quantinuum is estimated to be worth $20 billion.

Naudts previously founded travel and culture media business Culture Trip. Koruturk previously worked at Goldman Sachs and co-founded the bank's Tech Initiative.

Firgun has an advisory council with members drawn from organisations including the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, MIT, Google, the European Investment Bank and the Wellcome Trust.

Technology approach

Photonic is developing fault-tolerant quantum systems. Its "Entanglement First" architecture combines silicon-based qubits with photonic connectivity, which the company says supports modular designs that could scale to larger systems.

It is working on quantum computers and quantum networks, aiming to integrate photonics at the architecture level rather than treating it as a peripheral component.

Quantum computing developers are working to increase the number of usable qubits and reduce errors, but many approaches remain at the research and engineering stage. Investors have continued to back companies that say their roadmaps can move beyond laboratory demonstrations to practical systems.

Photonic has attracted backing from a mix of institutional and corporate investors, including Royal Bank of Canada, Mubadala, Microsoft and Telus.

In quantum technology, corporate investors often take strategic stakes to stay close to emerging hardware and software approaches. Financial investors have tended to focus on companies that can demonstrate repeatable technical milestones and credible manufacturing paths.

Commercial horizon

Photonic has pointed to potential applications in materials discovery, drug development and optimisation, as well as national security. The timing of many use cases remains uncertain, and developers continue to debate what counts as a meaningful advantage over classical computing for specific tasks.

Government interest has been a key feature of the sector, particularly in the US, where agencies have funded multiple hardware approaches. Participation in competitive programmes can provide non-dilutive funding and technical validation, although it does not guarantee commercial outcomes.

Firgun invests at what it calls an "early growth-stage" point in quantum technology-typically between initial research spin-outs and later rounds, when companies scale teams, refine hardware roadmaps and build commercial partnerships.

Naudts linked the investment thesis to the challenge of scaling quantum systems, and the potential performance gains if that challenge is met.

"Photonic Inc represents the kind of company we set out to support," said Dr Kris Naudts, co-founder of Firgun Ventures.

He added: "Scaling quantum computers is critical to unlocking exponential speed-ups that will provide the power to solve some of the world's biggest problems. Photonic Inc's architecture tackles the scaling challenge head-on, and the strength of their scientific foundations and team gives us strong confidence in their long-term potential to redefine what is possible in quantum computing. Not to mention our getting a front seat in the Canadian quantum ecosystem."

Zeynep Koruturk, co-founder of Firgun Ventures said Firgun looks for moments when technical progress needs to translate into business execution.

"Firgun backs quantum founders at the point where technical breakthroughs must translate into scalable, commercial businesses," said Koruturk. "Photonic's architecture has the potential to unlock meaningful applications across sectors, while enabling new approaches to complex problem-solving that could help strengthen and safeguard the global economy."

Firgun will continue to look for early growth-stage quantum investments, and expects international dealmaking to remain central to its pipeline.