Cambridge-based quantum computing startup Zapata Computing, one of the first users of Cirq, Google’s new open-source software framework for quantum computing, raised $21 million in a Series A round.
The round was led by Comcast Ventures and Prelude Ventures; some new and existing investors including Pitango Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Pillar VC, and The Engine also participated in the round. The two-year-old company is trying to bring quantum computing solutions to enterprise software.
“The success of Zapata’s quantum software platform is in delivering real-world advances in computational power for applications — particularly in chemistry, machine learning, and optimization," Christopher Savoie, CEO and co-founder of Zapata, said in a press release.
The company, which holds an exclusive license to a portfolio of quantum algorithms from Harvard University, will use the funding to addressing the talent crunch in quantum science. In October 2018, Savoie expressed the need for a revision of immigration policies that hurt talent sourcing for companies like his, in a New York Times article. To that end, the company plans to hire talent in quantum physics and computer science, expanding talent hires in Boston, as well as expansion plans in Toronto and Barcelona.
