OrangeQS Secures Funding for Quantum Innovation

Orange Quantum Systems (OrangeQS), a company specializing in quantum chip testing, has announced the second closing of its seed funding round, extending its total capital raised to €15 million. This follows the first closing, which took place in the summer of 2025, already reaching €12 million. The additional funds come from the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Fund, an entity that supports European deep tech innovation through venture capital investments. Demonstrating this commitment, Zeina Chebli, an investor from the EIC Fund, has joined the OrangeQS board.

This significant financial strengthening arrives at a crucial time for the company, which has simultaneously launched a new and ambitious program. The objective is to enhance the OrangeQS MAX product line and accelerate quantum chip testing across the industry. Quantum computing is a rapidly developing field, and as the complexity of the chips underpinning these advances increases, a fundamental challenge has emerged: the need for scalable, precise, and cost-effective quantum chip testing solutions.

The MAX Partnership Program: Addressing Testing Challenges

The new OrangeQS MAX Partnership Program has been designed to align OrangeQS's development roadmap with the needs of leading quantum chip manufacturers. Among the first companies to join the program are Rigetti Computing, QuantWare, and Peak Quantum. This strategic collaboration involves each partner working independently with OrangeQS to influence specific parts of the OrangeQS MAX technology and product roadmaps, depending on their needs and level of commitment.

A crucial aspect of this approach is the protection of partners' intellectual property, while ensuring that the next generation of test solutions supports their quantum chip architectures and production processes. The program is designed to ensure that the OrangeQS MAX quantum chip testing system remains future-proof and fit-for-purpose, with future upgrades allowing for faster cryogenic quantum chip testing, aligned with the roadmaps of major manufacturers. Initially, the program will focus on developments in parallel and non-destructive testing technologies.

Implications for Hardware Development and the Future of Quantum Computing

Quantum chip testing represents a significant bottleneck for the scalability and commercialization of quantum computing. For companies evaluating the deployment of AI/LLM solutions, the maturity and reliability of the underlying hardware are critical factors influencing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and long-term feasibility. A robust and automated testing system, such as that offered by OrangeQS MAX, is essential for reducing production costs and improving chip quality, fundamental elements for any infrastructure, whether cloud-based or self-hosted.

The ability to perform high-volume, automated testing, as highlighted by Garrelt Alberts, Executive Director of OrangeQS, sets new industry benchmarks. This is particularly relevant for the AI-RADAR audience, which focuses on local stacks and hardware for inference and training. The availability of reliable and rigorously tested quantum chips is a prerequisite for the development of quantum systems that may one day complement or surpass the capabilities of classical systems, potentially influencing on-premise deployment decisions for more demanding AI workloads.

Future Prospects and the Role of "Dark Quantum Foundries"

OrangeQS has already outlined its future vision by publishing a new white paper that proposes a framework for "utility-grade" quantum chip testing as a key enabler for future "dark quantum foundries." This concept indicates a strategic direction towards highly automated and optimized foundries for quantum chip production, where testing plays a central role from the earliest stages of the process.

Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, emphasized how this investment reflects the fund's commitment to backing Europe's most ambitious deep tech innovators. By advancing quantum chip performance validation, OrangeQS is addressing a crucial bottleneck in scaling quantum technologies. The new funding will be used to accelerate the development of key technologies, further enhancing the OrangeQS MAX product line, a turn-key, automated, and fast quantum chip testing system. This progress is fundamental for the transition of quantum computing from research to large-scale commercial production.