Exclusive: Coherence Quantum raises €2. 78M to cut the heat inside quantum computers

Think of a quantum computer as a very delicate machine that needs to operate in extreme cold. The processor is the part that does the actual computing, but it needs a lot of supporting equipment to work. The processor sits inside a special refrigerator that cools it to temperatures close to absolute zero. Cables run from outside the refrigerator to the chip, carrying the signals that control its tiny computing units, called qubits. The problem is that the more powerful quantum computers become, the harder it gets to manage all those connections. Too many cables take up space, complicate the system, and can limit how far the technology can scale. That’s what Coherence Quantum wants to address as the Finnish startup is developing technology to make controlling quantum computers easier as they scale up. The Espoo-based company, spun out of Aalto University, has raised €2.78 million in seed funding led by Lifeline Ventures, with participation from Mårten Mickos, the former CEO of MySQL. To put this in the simplest way, what they are doing is like trying to control thousands of tiny devices inside a freezer so cold that almost everything has to be specially designed to work there. Every…