Quantum Motion announced on Thursday that it has completed a $160 million funding round to advance the development of next-generation quantum computers. The company leverages standard silicon chip manufacturing processes to create quantum computers that are smaller, more cost-effective, and more energy-efficient than competing models.

Quantum computers hold the potential to solve complex problems beyond the reach of traditional supercomputers, with their core capability rooted in the use of quantum bits, or qubits.

While conventional computer transistors can only represent either a 0 or a 1 at any given moment, qubits can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously. Various technological approaches are currently being explored to create qubits: IBM and Alphabet, Google's parent company, utilize superconducting technologies, while other firms employ lasers to manipulate neutral atoms.

A common challenge across all these approaches is the difficulty of scaling up to integrate the thousands or even millions of qubits required for practical quantum computers.

London-based Quantum Motion is pursuing a different path: it is developing a method to produce qubits using silicon transistors, which are already mass-produced and widely used in mobile phone and computer chips.

James Palles-Dimmock, CEO of Quantum Motion, stated: "Our company was founded on a reverse-engineering mindset: by making minimal modifications to existing transistors, we can transform them into high-performance qubits."

In classical computing chips, transistors operate in either an on or off state, with electrons flowing across a gap when turned on. Quantum Motion's technology suspends individual electrons within that gap and manipulates them using magnetic fields.

While the concept of electron spin technology is not entirely new—Intel and several startups are also exploring similar directions—Quantum Motion claims it has partnered with foundry GlobalFoundries to implement this technology in mass-produced chips.

The CEO revealed that, using this approach, the cost of building a practical quantum computer could be kept between $10 million and $20 million.

He added, "We have a clear technical roadmap to build the world’s most powerful quantum computer at a reasonable cost."

The latest funding round was co-led by DCVC and Kembara, with participation from British Business Bank and Firgun. Existing investors, including Oxford Science Enterprises, Inkef, Bosch Ventures, Porsche Automobil Holding, and Parkwalk Advisors, also contributed additional capital.