Quanfluence, a photonics-based quantum technology startup, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by pi Ventures. The round also saw participation from Golden Sparrow, Reena Dayal and others. Reena is also the Founder and CEO of the Quantum Ecosystems and Technology Council of India (QETCI).
The newly secured funds will be used to scale its near-term products and bring them to market. These products will showcase the practical applications of its ising machine while building momentum for its ultimate goal. Further, the funds will advance research and development for Quanfluence’s flagship quantum computer.
Sujoy Chakravarty, Co-Founder and CEO of Quanfluence, said, “This funding is a significant milestone for us, reinforcing our vision to pioneer quantum computing from India. It enables us to enhance our photonic-based technologies, scale the optimizer, and accelerate the development of our general-purpose quantum computer. We deeply appreciate the trust and support of our investors, who share our belief in the transformative potential of quantum computing.”
Shubham Sandeep, Managing Director at pi Ventures, said, “Quanfluence represents the ideal fusion of cutting-edge innovation, bold vision and near-term commercialization in quantum computing. Their photonic-based technology, already available today, holds the potential to transform industries by addressing complex optimization challenges where classical computing falls short. It is rare to encounter repeat successful founders in the DeepTech domain and we feel privileged to partner with Sujoy, Ravi, Biman and their exceptional team as they pioneer the future of quantum advancements.”
Founded in 2021 by Sujoy Chakravarty, Ravi Mehta, Biman Chattopadhyay, Anil Prabhakar, Aditi Vaidya and Prof Sandeep Goyal, and incubated in the IITM Incubation Centre, Quanfluence is a Bangalore-based photonic quantum technology startup.
Quanfluence has a hardware-based optimization solution that complements AI to improve decision-making ability. Quanfluence is also on a mission to develop a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer within the next five to six years.
Quanfluence’s 100x faster optimization technology is powered by its optical Ising machine, which leverages light waves as computational units. These waves are manipulated through advanced photonic circuits and paired with high-speed field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), enabling the system to process hundreds of interconnected variables simultaneously.
Their current system, capable of handling 128 interconnected variables (~10,000 permutations), has been successfully piloted with select customers for small-scale problems. They are now testing a more advanced version capable of processing 10-25 million permutations, scheduled for release next quarter to address complex real-world optimization challenges such as financial optimization and risk management, logistics, workforce scheduling, optimizing delivery routes etc.
