(Phys.org)—Venture capital firm Quantum Wave Fund has announced that they have raised $30 million of their goal of $100 million to invest in quantum research efforts. The group is based out of Boston though its members have mostly Russian backgrounds. They also have offices in Moscow and New York. The stated purpose of the firm is to seek out research teams who have made progress in developing quantum technologies and then to offer them funding to help bring the technology into the commercial sector.
In their press release, representatives for the firm, also known more commonly as Qwave, said that they believe their fund is the first of its kind to offer funds for commercializing quantum technology – in this case focusing on three specific areas: New materials, security and new kinds of measurement devices such as super accurate clocks. They won't be offering funds for those working on early research however, they are primarily interested in academic or commercial groups who have already demonstrated some success in creating an actual product.
The Russian influence is strong with the group, its initial members are venture partner Serguei Beloussov, scientific advisory board member Vladimir Shalaev and managing partner Serguei Kouzmine. The team notes that funding for highly sophisticated and capital heavy investment in the tech sector has been rather thin since the 1970's, with most venture capital funds of late going to software and Internet related technologies. They add that they've also noted that many promising quantum research efforts go un-commercialized because the teams working on them don't have the expertise to take products from the small scale to the large scale, a problem they intend to address directly.
To improve their chances of choosing ventures to fund that will pay off eventually, the Qwave partners say that have put together a team of top-notch physicists, computer scientists and other science and management experts who have proven track records in taking new technologies to market. They suggest also that quantum technology is on the verge of providing the types of huge breakthroughs that previously have brought us game-changing technologies such as semiconductors and lasers. Such new technologies they add are likely to include faster and safer data transmission, optical transistors and more accurate measurement systems.
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More information: qwcap.com/
