Quantum Funding Surge: Firgun Ventures’ $70 M Quantum Tech VC Round

24 Nov 2025 – Investor confidence in quantum technology is reaching new heights, as evidenced by London-based Firgun Ventures announcing a $70 million first close of its new quantum-focused venture fund. Firgun’s fund, which is backed by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund (Qatar Investment Authority) as an anchor LP, is targeting a total of $250 million to invest in early growth-stage quantum startups globally. The initial $70M tranche will kickstart deployments into companies spanning quantum computing hardware and software, quantum communications (like QKD networks), and quantum sensing applications, among others.

Firgun Ventures, founded by a team blending scientific and finance backgrounds, is billing itself as one of the first VC firms dedicated solely to “post-seed, pre-expansion” quantum tech companies – essentially aiming to fill the Series A/B funding gap for startups that have proven prototypes and now need to scale. The firm’s leadership includes Dr. Kris Naudts and Zeynep Koruturk, who bring experience in academia, entrepreneurship, and big tech investing, supported by an advisory council of quantum experts from Cambridge, Oxford, MIT, Google and others. Their thesis is that quantum technology is at an inflection point moving “from theory to real-world impact”, and thus poised for significant growth – with Firgun positioning to nurture the standout players of this emerging industry.

Bigger picture: 2025 has seen a surge in quantum R&D funding and venture capital globally, suggesting a tipping point in the quantum sector’s maturation. A recent McKinsey report projected the total quantum technology market (computing, communication, sensing) could approach $100 billion by 2035. Supporting that optimism, startup investment in quantum tech jumped ~50% year-over-year, from about $1.3B in 2023 to ~$2.0B in 2024 – a trend that likely continued or even accelerated in 2025. Firgun’s $250M fund (once fully raised) will add significantly to the capital available for quantum innovators, and its partnership with Qatar indicates governments and sovereign funds are increasingly co-investing to build domestic quantum ecosystems (Qatar has announced plans to establish a regional quantum hub).

It’s not just VC funds: established quantum companies are also leveraging public markets for huge war chests. Notably, in October 2025, U.S.-based IonQ – one of the leading quantum computing firms – raised $2 billion in a single equity offering to fuel its expansion. That massive raise (one of the largest in the quantum industry’s history) underscores the confidence of institutional investors in quantum’s commercial prospects. IonQ’s capital will go toward accelerating its technology roadmap and scaling systems (IonQ’s CEO called it a validation of IonQ’s unique position and claimed it as the largest single investment in quantum to date).

All this money flowing in serves as a reality check: where a decade ago quantum startups struggled to attract generalist investors due to long development timelines and uncertainty, now the narrative has shifted to “don’t miss the quantum boom.” Firms like McKinsey have quantified a clear path to revenue in certain quantum sub-sectors by the early 2030s, and we see diverse investor types (VCs, sovereign funds, corporates, even SPACs in earlier years) piling in. The total VC funding in quantum for 2025 is on track to set a record, potentially exceeding the ~$2B mark of 2024 by a wide margin. Indeed, just in the past year we saw multiple nine-figure rounds or commitments across the globe.

Firgun’s fund, with its relatively specialized focus, will likely target startups that have graduated from lab research and need capital to build products and acquire customers. Those could include companies making quantum processors (superconducting, photonic, ion trap, etc.) who need to move from a prototype to a full stack or fabrication, or quantum communication firms deploying testbed networks, or sensing companies developing quantum magnetometers or clocks for real-world use. By supporting “early growth” firms, Firgun is filling a crucial gap: many quantum startups have historically gotten seed grants or corporate backing, but raising Series A/B to truly commercialize often proved challenging. This fund signals that capital is now available at those stages, not just in government grants but from profit-driven investors who see near-term payoff.

In sum, the quantum industry’s financing landscape in late 2025 is vibrant. Venture capital and public markets are endorsing quantum as one of the next big things – akin to where AI was a decade ago – and are providing the fuel to get it there. The infusion of $70M (and soon $250M) by Firgun Ventures adds to this momentum. It’s also a reminder that quantum technology has moved out of the purely academic realm; savvy investors are treating it as an emerging sector worth significant allocation. With forecasts of a ~$100B market by 2035 and some even larger projections beyond, it’s likely we’ll continue to see record-breaking funding rounds, new specialized funds, and maybe more IPOs or big acquisitions in the coming years. For quantum startups, it’s a good time to be raising – and for the field as a whole, this capital influx will drive faster progress toward practical quantum solutions.