The problem
Governments and labs need quantum computers that can scale to millions of qubits without huge laser and cooling setups
What they do
Modular trapped-ion quantum computers built by tiling silicon chips linked with electric fields
Traction €67M ($77M) DLR contract for two machines; £9.2M revenue 2025, down from £17.0M in 2023
Hiring trend
- Open roles
- 40
- Ops roles
- 1
- Headcount
- ~100
Flat, ~100 staff (Revelio −3.7% YoY; LinkedIn ~103); postings 6 → 20 in 2026 (Revelio), 36 live on Workable
Glassdoor
4.9 ★ 13 reviews ↗Funding
- Last round
- $100M+
- Stage
- Series A
- Date
- Oct 2026
Led by DCVC, Firgun Ventures
- Hiring+240 open roles on the live job board (30+ roles = +2)
- Funding recency+2Series A · $100M+, Oct 2026 (this month): 6 months or less = +1.5, $100M+ round +0.5
- Traction+0.75Some growth: €67M ($77M) DLR contract for two machines; £9.2M revenue 2025, down from £17.0M in 2023
- Red flags0None found in the last 24 months
- Total4.752 + 2 + 0.75 − 0 = 4.75 → Sprint (4.75 or more)
Distance (10K) is a separate read on how long the lead can last. It doesn't change the score.
Distance
10K
Smaller trapped-ion player behind Quantinuum ($600M raise) and IonQ (bought Oxford Ionics); its one named customer is Germany's DLR (verified €67M contract), with both machines due around end-2026. Revenue fell two years running, it swung to a £5.8M loss in 2025 and cash fell to £3.6M before this round, so burn and single-customer exposure are real.
Sources: DLR QCI: Universal Quantum is contractor on Toccata and Legato ion-trap projects ↗ · DLR: ion-trap contracts awarded, prototypes within four years (Oct 2022) ↗ · Series A Stories: filed accounts, 2025 loss, cash and competition (Oct 2026) ↗ · Universal Quantum: $100M+ Series A press release (Oct 2026) ↗
Open ops roles · 1
Last checked Oct 25, 2026