[StartupRecipe] Korea’s Quantum Startups Drew 4 of 1,217 Deals.

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Korea’s Quantum Startups Drew 4 of 1,217 Deals.

Quantum computing startups in South Korea have raised 5 investments so far this year, with the four deals that disclosed amounts totaling 64.1 billion won, according to Startup Recipe’s investment data. Only 4 of the 1,217 startup investments recorded from January to September were quantum-related. The money reached several layers of the value chain, from quantum computers themselves to core components and communications technology.

Global markets saw far larger sums. Quantinuum raised $1.7 billion through a Nasdaq listing, and IQM secured $57 million. Quantum Art ($140 million), Quobly (€115 million) and Universal Quantum ($100 million) also raised large rounds, concentrated on hardware and chip developers working with superconducting, trapped-ion and silicon technologies.

In Korea, investment clustered in the first half. SDT raised funds in January and GQT Korea in February. Quad and Innertron followed in June, and OQT closed a round in October.

OQT, the most recent deal, raised 14 billion won in a Series A led by DSC Investment. Existing investors Kakao Ventures and Bluepoint Partners joined with follow-on investments. The round is the second largest among this year’s quantum deals, behind SDT’s. Quantum computing is considered a next-generation technology for solving problems that conventional computers handle slowly, but it demands long R&D periods and heavy capital. OQT is expected to use the proceeds to advance its technology and prepare for commercialization.

SDT, a quantum technology company, raised the most. In January it secured 30 billion won from Praxis Capital Partners and NH Investment & Securities, nearly half of the total disclosed amount. It plans to put the money toward AI-quantum hybrid infrastructure and technology upgrades, with the aim of developing next-generation computing solutions for rising computational demand.

SDT was the first company in Korea to sign a commercial quantum hybrid system supply contract, and it has delivered a quantum computer to an AI data center. Praxis Capital cited the company’s full-stack capabilities across hardware and software, along with its market scalability, as the basis for the investment. SDT is preparing a technology-special listing with NH Investment & Securities and aims to go public within the year.

Component makers also drew funding. Quad raised 2.1 billion won in a pre-Series A round on June 22, with four investors participating, including Bluepoint Partners and Dongkook Investment. The company builds superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs), which sense the smallest unit of light, and has system technology that runs stably at minus 269 degrees Celsius. Quad plans to commercialize a semiconductor inspection module first, then expand into defense and space optical communications before moving to the quantum computing infrastructure market.

Innertron received 18 billion won from Main Street Investment on June 24 in a round described as pre-IPO. It was the first financial investor capital the company has taken since its founding in 2002. Innertron designs and manufactures RF products in-house, from ceramic materials to components, modules and systems. Beyond 5G private networks and satellite communications, it is expanding into control components for quantum computing and is pursuing a listing in 2027.

GQT Korea, which is headquartered in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, and specializes in quantum communication and sensing technology, received investment on February 25. BTQ Technologies and Stonecast Ventures participated. The amount was not disclosed.

Two of the five companies, SDT and Innertron, are preparing to list. Funding went both to a company that supplies quantum computers directly and to those making cryogenic sensors and control components, and large sums reached an early-stage company in the second half. Taken together, the deals suggest the domestic quantum computing industry is moving beyond the research stage and building a supply chain.

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