Haiqu, a quantum software company developing technology to improve the performance and efficiency of quantum computers, has raised an $11 million seed round to accelerate the commercialization of its hardware-aware operating system for near-term quantum applications. The financing was led by Primary Venture Partners, with participation from Qudit Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Collaborative Fund, Silicon Roundabout Ventures, Angel One Fund, and returning investors Toyota Ventures and MaC Venture Capital. The company said the new capital will support the launch of its quantum operating system and expand its engineering and commercial teams as demand grows for practical quantum computing solutions.

Founded in 2022 by Richard Givhan and Mykola Maksymenko, Haiqu is focused on addressing one of quantum computing’s biggest barriers to commercial adoption: the limited performance and high operating costs of today’s quantum hardware. Rather than building quantum computers, the company develops software that enables existing quantum processors to execute larger and more complex workloads while consuming significantly fewer computational resources. Its platform is designed to work across multiple quantum hardware providers, allowing enterprises and researchers to improve application performance without waiting for fully fault-tolerant quantum computers to become commercially available.

Haiqu’s operating system acts as an optimization layer between quantum applications and quantum hardware. The software automatically compresses quantum circuits, mitigates hardware errors, optimizes data loading, and manages execution across different quantum processors. According to the company, these capabilities can reduce quantum cloud computing costs while enabling users to solve larger computational problems than would otherwise be possible on current-generation hardware. The platform is intended to support applications across industries including financial services, life sciences, aerospace, automotive, energy, and logistics.

Chief Executive Officer Richard Givhan said the company is working to make quantum computing practical before the arrival of fault-tolerant quantum systems. He noted that many organizations are discouraged from experimenting with quantum technology because cloud computing costs remain high and today’s hardware has significant performance limitations. Haiqu believes intelligent middleware can bridge that gap by extracting substantially more value from existing quantum processors while reducing the resources required to run meaningful workloads.

The investors backing the round reflect growing confidence in the commercial potential of quantum software. Lead investor Primary Venture Partners said software infrastructure will play a critical role in accelerating practical quantum computing by enabling organizations to achieve better results from today’s hardware. Returning investors Toyota Ventures and MaC Venture Capital had previously backed Haiqu’s $4 million pre-seed financing announced in 2023, demonstrating continued support for the company’s technical progress and commercialization strategy.

Haiqu has continued expanding its technology portfolio since its pre-seed round. The company has collaborated with research institutions and enterprise partners on projects involving quantum chemistry, computational fluid dynamics, financial modeling, and anomaly detection. It has also worked alongside organizations including HSBC, Capgemini, and the Perimeter Institute to demonstrate practical applications for quantum computing using its optimization software. These collaborations are intended to validate the company’s approach of improving existing hardware through software innovation rather than relying solely on future advances in quantum processor design.

The fresh capital will be used to advance Haiqu’s product roadmap, expand customer deployments, and further develop its hardware-aware quantum operating system. The company plans to strengthen support for enterprise customers seeking to integrate quantum computing into research and development workflows while continuing to enhance the efficiency of quantum applications across multiple hardware platforms. As organizations increasingly explore quantum computing for real-world business problems, Haiqu aims to position its software as a foundational layer that makes quantum systems more practical, scalable, and cost-effective.

Investor interest in quantum computing has remained resilient despite the industry’s long commercialization timeline, with growing attention shifting toward software companies capable of delivering measurable value using current-generation hardware. By focusing on optimization rather than processor development, Haiqu is targeting an area where enterprises can realize near-term benefits while the broader quantum ecosystem continues to mature. With the backing of a syndicate of venture firms experienced in deep technology and enterprise software, the company plans to expand its global presence and accelerate the adoption of quantum computing through software that enables more efficient execution of increasingly sophisticated applications.

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