ZuriQ raises $25.5 million to scale its 2D trapped-ion quantum chip

Why it matters

ZuriQ is using venture capital to test a fundamental redesign of trapped-ion hardware. Its geometry may simplify scaling, but the public evidence remains a nine-ion demonstrator without disclosed performance benchmarks.

ZuriQ, the quantum hardware developer founded by Pavel Hrmo, Tobias Sagesser and Shreyans Jain, announced a $25.5 million seed round on July 28 to scale a trapped-ion processor that lets ions move across a chip in two dimensions. The financing was reported by Tech.eu and detailed in ZuriQ's announcement.

Quantonation led the round, joined by Forward.one, Extantia, Firgun Ventures and every investor from ZuriQ's previous financing, according to ZuriQ. Those earlier backers include Founderful, SquareOne, First Momentum Ventures, OnSight Ventures and QAI Ventures.

The seed follows a $4.2 million pre-seed announced in January 2025 and brings ZuriQ's publicly stated funding to $29.7 million. ZuriQ did not disclose a valuation. The capital will fund hiring, research and chip fabrication as ZuriQ tries to move from nine individually controlled ions to hundreds of qubits on a chip.

That gap defines the investment. ZuriQ has evidence that its unusual geometry works in a small system and that its trap chips can be made by an established semiconductor manufacturer. ZuriQ has yet to publish the larger array or the gate fidelity, error-rate and coherence data needed to judge how the architecture performs as a quantum computer at scale.

Three researchers who rejected the standard ion chain

Hrmo's route to ZuriQ ran through the laboratories that shaped trapped-ion computing. He studied physics at the University of Edinburgh, pursued controlled quantum dynamics at Imperial College London and worked on applying Penning traps to quantum information processing. He later joined Rainer Blatt's trapped-ion laboratory at the University of Innsbruck before moving to ETH Zurich.

At ETH Zurich, Hrmo worked with Sagesser and Jain in Jonathan Home's trapped-ion group. Sagesser completed his master's degree and doctorate at ETH Zurich, with an R&D stint at sensor manufacturer Sensirion, and worked on moving ions in three dimensions. Jain's master's research supplied an early theoretical foundation for large two-dimensional Penning-trap grids before he helped build the experimental apparatus during his doctorate.

The founding trio's work departed from the architecture used by most trapped-ion developers. Conventional systems typically arrange charged atoms in one-dimensional chains and shuttle them through junctions to connect larger systems. ZuriQ uses Penning micro-traps, replacing the rapidly oscillating electric fields common in ion traps with a static magnetic field, according to Tech.eu.

ZuriQ says that configuration lets individual ions move in multiple directions above the chip without passing through fixed junctions. ZuriQ argues the added freedom of movement should increase connectivity and simplify scaling.

The approach grew out of research published in Physical Review X in 2020 and an experimental Nature paper in 2024. The researchers continued with the Penning design and incorporated ZuriQ in 2024.

ZuriQ's founding thesis depends on reaching substantially larger systems rather than optimizing a modest ion chain.

Nine ions provide the proof point

ZuriQ's latest disclosed demonstrator contains a 3x3 array of nine individually controlled ions. ZuriQ says the system was developed with ETH Zurich researchers and represents the largest demonstrated two-dimensional trapped-ion array of its kind.

The fabrication process matters alongside the ion count. Infineon began working with ZuriQ in 2025 to manufacture micro-Penning trap chips using established semiconductor processes. That gives Hrmo and his co-founders a route for producing more complex chips without building a dedicated fabrication facility.

Manufacturable traps solve one part of the scaling problem. A larger processor must also preserve control quality as the number of ions, electrodes, laser interactions and potential noise sources grows. ZuriQ's announcement does not provide gate fidelity, coherence time, error-rate or algorithmic benchmark results for the nine-ion array.

ZuriQ has not attached a date to its next scale target. The July 2026 announcement centers on nine controlled ions and says the new money will lay the groundwork for hundreds of qubits.

Investors fund the jump from physics to machinery

Trapped-ion computing remains a well-financed contest over architecture and industrial execution. IonQ completed its acquisition of Oxford Ionics in September 2025, gaining another trapped-ion design built around semiconductor-manufactured chips. Germany's eleQtron raised EUR 57 million in May 2026 to expand production and cloud access for its microwave-controlled trapped-ion systems. EleQtron also claimed more than EUR 54 million in signed contracts.

ZuriQ is earlier in its development. Its public proof point is the nine-ion demonstrator, and the July announcement identifies no commercial deployments. Quantonation and the other investors are financing the transition from an ETH Zurich experiment into a larger, repeatable machine.

TechFundingNews reported that ZuriQ's headcount has grown from four to 18 since the previous round. ZuriQ's stated use of proceeds includes hiring, research and chip fabrication.

The founders now have the money to test their central claim at a more meaningful scale. Semiconductor fabrication gives ZuriQ a plausible production route, and the nine-ion array shows that the two-dimensional geometry can be controlled. Larger arrays and independently assessable performance data will determine whether Hrmo's decision to spend longer in the laboratory produced a shortcut around the trapped-ion industry's scaling problem.