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15 Apr 2025
Spin-out from Denmark's Niels Bohr Institute is a key supplier to Orca Computing, among others.
Sparrow Quantum, a Copenhagen-based startup specializing in single-photon emitters suitable for a range of quantum technology applications, has raised €21.5 million in a series A funding round.
Led by PensionDanmark, a Danish pension fund with nearly one million members, the investment is intended to help Sparrow meet growing demand for photonic quantum hardware by accelerating research and development, expanding chip production, and bringing next-generation quantum chips to market.
Also supporting the round were the Export and Investment Found of Denmark (EIFO) and Novo Holdings, the venture wing of pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk, as well as existing investors 2xN, which is a quantum-focused venture group based in London, and the Italian venture firm LIFTT.
Orca’s ‘PT-2’ quantum computer
Founded after more than two decades of research led by co-founder Peter Lodahl, a professor in quantum physics and technology at NBI, Sparrow already sells a commercial single-photon emitter, in the form of its “Sparrow Core” technology.
The sources are aimed at applications in quantum computing, sensing, metrology, ultra-secure communication, and the emerging quantum internet.
According to investor LIFTT, the company has also produced an on-chip single-photon source that provides long strings of more than 100 single photons at a rate of more than 20 million single photons per second in fiber.
Such a source can be directly deployed for multi-photon quantum simulations, or quantum key distribution (QKD) experiments.
Sparrow's single-photon sources have also been deployed in the latest “PT-2” quantum computer devised by UK-based Orca Computing, the very first version of which was recently shipped to the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) near Oxford.
Developed in collaboration with QKD pioneer ID Quantique and chip giant Nvidia, the PT-2 system is said to be tailored for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments, and to offer developer-friendly tools alongside a low total cost of ownership.
Scaling up
The series A round builds on a €4.1 million seed investment completed in 2023, since when Sparrow has also been collaborating with Orca, single-photon detector maker Pixel Photonics, and an NBI team on the “SupremeQ” project to advance photonic quantum computing.
Lodahl - now Sparrow’s “chief quantum officer” - said that the latest investment would mean the firm could “truly intensify” efforts to bring quantum technology from the laboratory to the commercial market, adding:
“It enables us to scale up in three critical areas which are essential for industrializing our photonic quantum chips and ensuring we can deliver stable, advanced solutions to the market.
“It is an honor to build up a truly world-class team of quantum photonics experts with unique know-how on quantum photonic chip technology.”
Peter Stensgaard Mørch, the CEO of PensionDanmark, commented: “Quantum technology can open an entirely new world of solutions to complex problems, and the Danish research environment, from which Sparrow Quantum emerges, has the potential to position Denmark as an international frontrunner in the field.
“Therefore, we see a clear potential for the investment to yield an attractive return on our members' pension savings while also benefiting the national economy and Danish industry. That is why it is an obvious investment for PensionDanmark.”
Sparrow's CEO, Kurt Stokbro, added: “This investment is a testament to Denmark and Europe’s ability to lead in quantum technology. With strong backing from visionary Danish investors, we are ready to unlock quantum breakthroughs that benefit society and the global economy.”
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