Building Quantum Start-ups: Why Innovation Ecosystems Matter

Quantum technologies are reaching a point where scientific progress alone is no longer enough. As research moves closer to industrial application, attention is increasingly shifting towards the companies that will transform breakthroughs into products, services and entirely new markets.

For quantum start-ups, however, this is far from a conventional entrepreneurial journey. Unlike companies entering established markets, they develop technologies while customer demand, business models and investment landscapes are still evolving. Success therefore depends not only on scientific excellence, but also on the ability to navigate uncertainty and adapt alongside a rapidly changing ecosystem.

Innovation Ecosystems as Catalysts for Quantum Commercialisation

The recent Fraunhofer study Quantum Start-ups made in Germany captures this reality well. Based on interviews with founders, it shows that quantum entrepreneurs constantly balance long-term technological development with commercial expectations, collaboration with the protection of intellectual property, and scientific ambition with industrial relevance. Rather than waiting for fully mature technologies, successful start-ups create value early through demonstrators, pilot projects and industrial partnerships, allowing technologies, applications and business models to mature together. Commercialisation, therefore, is not the final step - it accompanies innovation from the very beginning.

This early interaction with future users is one of the defining characteristics of quantum innovation. Developing quantum technologies requires expertise that no single organisation can provide on its own, from hardware and software to manufacturing, infrastructure and application development. As highlighted in the OECD–EPO report Mapping the Global Quantum Ecosystem, progress depends on an interconnected landscape of universities, research organisations, start-ups, established companies, investors and public authorities. Their combined expertise, together with access to specialised infrastructure, talent and investment, creates the conditions needed to move quantum technologies beyond the laboratory.

Europe already possesses many of these assets. According to the QuIC White Paper on European Quantum Market Consolidation, the continent combines world-class research with a highly specialised industrial base. The challenge lies less in generating innovation than in connecting existing capabilities more effectively, allowing promising technologies and companies to scale while strengthening Europe's technological sovereignty.

The same conclusion emerges from the demand side. The latest Bitkom study on quantum computing in German industry shows that although companies increasingly recognise the strategic importance of quantum technologies, many remain hesitant because of limited expertise, uncertain business cases and a lack of practical experience. This is precisely where collaborative projects become valuable. By bringing technology developers together with future users, they allow ideas to be tested, refined and validated long before commercial deployment, reducing uncertainty for both innovators and industry.

Connecting Complementary Expertise Around Shared Technological Goals

This approach has long been central to the EURICE Group's work: For more than two decades, EURICE has designed and managed European research and innovation projects that connect complementary expertise around shared technological goals. Within the quantum and HPC domains, projects such as HPCQS, OpenSuperQPlus, QEC4QEA and PASQuanS2 demonstrate how diverse European consortia enable co-creation from the outset. Researchers, start-ups, SMEs, industrial partners and end users jointly define requirements, develop solutions and validate emerging technologies throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring that scientific advances evolve in parallel with practical applications.

For start-ups, participating in these projects offers something often more valuable than funding: early validation. Working directly with industrial partners provides continuous feedback, access to specialised infrastructure and opportunities to demonstrate technologies in realistic environments. At the same time, it helps young companies build visibility, credibility and long-term partnerships that frequently extend well beyond the duration of a single project. In an emerging field such as quantum, these advantages can significantly shorten the path from promising research to market-ready innovation.

Supporting quantum entrepreneurship, however, should not end when a collaborative project concludes. The real challenge begins afterwards: transforming validated technologies into sustainable businesses capable of creating long-term economic and societal value. Achieving this requires continuity – from research and industrial validation to commercialisation, investment and market uptake.

Building on its long-standing experience in European research and innovation, the EURICE Group extends this support through Infinira Ventures, its venture studio, and Future8. Together, they complement collaborative research with venture building, stakeholder engagement and responsible innovation, helping promising quantum technologies continue their journey from research to real-world impact.