Fundraising Fox

Universal Quantum

Founded 2018 · 104 employees on LinkedIn · 10 known investors

Find your way into Universal Quantum

12 people in our graph share verified history with the Universal Quantum team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Hamish Garnettunlockedknows Winfried Hensinger · together at University of Sussex (overlapped)
×8knows the team · via University of Sussex
×3knows the team · via Universal Quantum

Universal Quantum develops quantum computers using trapped ion technology designed to solve complex computational problems in drug design, climate modeling, battery chemistry, and other fields. The company builds devices intended to operate reliably and deliver practical utility at scale.

Founders & leadership

Universal Quantum was founded in 2018 by Sebastian Weidt and Winfried Hensinger.

SWSebastian Weidt
Sebastian WeidtinCEO
WHWinfried Hensinger
Winfried HensingerinWinfried Hensinger is a professor of physics at the University of Sussex, where he leads the Ion Quantum Technology Group and directs the Centre for Quantum Technologies. He obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland in quantum physics, held postdoctoral positions at NIST and the University of Michigan, and co-founded Universal Quantum, where he serves as chairman and chief scientist.

Investors · 10

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Universal Quantum is a UK-based quantum computing company focused on building quantum computers that can be scaled to utility-scale sizes. Its stated mission is to construct machines capable of addressing computational problems that are intractable for classical computers, and it positions scalability as the central engineering challenge it is trying to solve.

The company describes its approach as based on a modular, robust and practical architectural blueprint, developed in collaboration with partner organisations and investors active in the quantum sector. Its staff comprises engineers, scientists and operational personnel working across hardware fabrication, chip development and algorithm design.

Traction

As of its 2026 annual company retreat, Universal Quantum brought together more than one hundred colleagues over a three-day event.

Latest developments

In 2026 the company held its annual company retreat at the De Vere Horsley Estate, attended by more than one hundred colleagues, and it publishes a podcast series covering topics such as quantum entanglement, team scaling and day-to-day work inside a quantum computing company.

Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography

Market position

Universal Quantum competes in quantum computing hardware, differentiating on the scalability of its modular machine architecture.

Technology

The company is developing utility-scale quantum computers built on a modular architecture that it describes as a robust and practical blueprint for scaling, with internal work spanning laboratory hardware, chip development cycles and algorithm design.

Go-to-market

Universal Quantum states that it develops its machines in partnership with leading organisations and investors in the quantum computing field.

Geography

The company is based in the United Kingdom, and held its 2026 company retreat at the De Vere Horsley Estate (Horsley Towers).

Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported
Employees attending 2026 company retreatJan 2026more than 100 colleagues
HeadcountAug 2026104

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Competitors · 5

by search overlap
Quantinuum22 shared keywordsQuantinuum develops quantum computers and quantum software solutions for applications in drug discovery, healthcare, materials science, cybersecurity, and energy. The company operates as an integrated quantum technology platform serving enterprise and research customers globally.
IonQ (IONQ)9 shared keywordsIonQ builds trapped-ion quantum computing systems along with quantum networking, sensing, and security products, offering commercial systems accessible through major cloud providers and integration with common quantum libraries. It serves enterprise and government customers across applications such as chemistry simulation, materials science, AI model fine-tuning, and quantum-secure communications.
Netezza9 shared keywordsIBM is a global technology company whose business spans enterprise software (including Red Hat, HashiCorp, and Confluent), IT infrastructure such as mainframes, servers, and storage, and IT consulting services. The company is also investing heavily in quantum computing and AI-based enterprise offerings, including its Lightwell open-source software security clearinghouse and the Anderon quantum wafer foundry.
QuEra Computing9 shared keywordsQuEra develops neutral-atom quantum computers, building both the quantum hardware and the classical control systems that operate them, along with related software and applications. It serves enterprise customers, high-performance computing centers, and government agencies worldwide, including deployments in Japan's national quantum program.
D-Wave7 shared keywordsD-Wave develops and delivers quantum computing systems, software, and services to enterprises across manufacturing, logistics, financial services, and life sciences sectors. The company offers both annealing and gate-model quantum computing products through on-premises systems and its Leap quantum cloud service.

Companies competing with Universal Quantum for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Timeline · 1

launches, deals, and filings
Jan 2026
2026 company retreat at De Vere Horsley Estate

Universal Quantum held its 2026 annual company retreat at the De Vere Horsley Estate (Horsley Towers) over three days, attended by more than one hundred colleagues.

source ↗

Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.

In the news

Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Universal Quantum do?
Universal Quantum is a UK company building utility-scale, modular trapped-ion quantum computers.
Who founded Universal Quantum?
Universal Quantum was founded by Sebastian Weidt, Winfried Hensinger in 2018.
Who are Universal Quantum's investors?
Universal Quantum's investors include FoundersX Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, In-Q-Tel, LA ROCA Capital, Nauta Capital, Salica Investments, Samos Investments, The Venture Collective and 2 more.