UbiQD eyes expansion with $20M round

23 Apr 2025

New Mexico startup aiming to build ‘the globe's largest and most efficient quantum-dot supply chain’.

UbiQD founder and CEO

UbiQD, the decade-old Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) spin-out that specializes in cadmium-free quantum dot (QD) materials, says it has completed a series B round of venture funding worth $20 million.

Led by California-based Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP), which previously backed photonics firms including Finisar, Daylight Solutions, and NeoPhotonics, the latest funding follows a series A round worth $7 million that UbiQD closed in 2020.

“Funding from the series B will be used to scale up manufacturing, expand research and development capabilities, strengthen intellectual property, enhance marketing efforts, and support working capital needs,” announced the startup.

“Additionally, UbiQD is making significant upgrades to its existing facilities in Los Alamos and new infrastructure is planned as part of its broader expansion strategy.

“A key milestone in UbiQD's growth roadmap includes plans to build the globe's largest and most efficient QD supply chain.”

Cadmium-free
Since emerging from the giant LANL campus in 2015, UbiQD has won several research grants that have helped to develop applications for the firm’s nanomaterials, including for solar windows and enhanced crop growth.

One example is the “UbiGro” film material, which uses the red-shifting capabilities of QDs to convert ultraviolet and blue light to orange and red wavelengths that are more readily absorbed by chlorophyll, enhancing plant growth for higher greenhouse yields.

While cadmium-free QD recipes used in display applications tend to feature indium phosphide material, UbiQD has developed an alternative approach based around copper indium sulfide (CIS) that can be manufactured using a low-cost process.

UbiQD’s founder and CEO Hunter McDaniel said following the latest fundraising effort: “Every major advancement in the history of humankind has been underpinned by materials innovation but unlocked by manufacturing scale, from the iron age to the semiconductor age.

“Quantum dots provide an excellent example of this, being at the heart of an ongoing nano- and quantum-technological revolution.”

PVP partner Sheng Peng commented: “From agriculture to solar to security, [UbiQD has] built real traction with major industry players, turning scientific innovation into commercial success.

“In today's investment climate, that kind of adaptability and market validation is critical, and we're excited to support UbiQD as they continue to lead the way in the quantum materials space.”

New Mexico expansion
The series B round also comes just a couple of months after UbiQD completed the acquisition of University of Washington spin-out BlueDot Photonics, which is developing perovskite materials to enhance solar module performance - an application area that UbiQD is also pursuing with its QD materials.

Aside from PVP, UbiQD’s series B round attracted support from Builders VC, Azura Group, Builders Vision, Stout Street Capital, Seraph Partners, Scout Ventures, New Mexico Vintage Fund, and others.

Jim Kim from Builders VC said: “Hunter and the UbiQD team have successfully translated quantum dot technology from the lab to real-world applications, creating scalable solutions for solar energy and agriculture.

“With accelerating customer adoption, a new factory underway in New Mexico, and industrial-scale production on the near horizon, the outlook is incredibly bright.”