Peter Sarlin’s QuTwo reaches $380M valuation in angel round

Source: TechCrunch

What QuTwo Does

• Name origin: “QuTwo” nods to quantum computing, but the company hasn’t gone all‑in on quantum hardware.
• Core product: QuTwo OS – an orchestration layer that routes tasks to classical, quantum, or hybrid architectures.
• Approach: Most enterprise use‑cases are best served by quantum‑inspired computing, i.e., using classical chips to simulate quantum behavior on reliable hardware.

“AI is the North Star that we will continue to aim for. Quantum is just a new type of compute.” – Peter Sarlin

Enterprise AI – The Main Revenue Driver

• Committed revenue: ≈ $23 million from design partnerships (e.g., retail giant Zalando, for which QuTwo built AI assistants).
• Vision: Build the globally leading AI company for the next paradigm, positioning Europe as a leader in the upcoming AI era.

European AI Landscape

• Recent unicorns: Former DeepMind researcher David Silver raised $1.1 billion for Ineffable Intelligence.
• Sarlin’s prior exit: Silo AI was acquired by AMD for $665 million in 2024.

“I had a lot of investors who would have wanted to pour a lot of money into making Silo into Europe’s OpenAI, but I didn’t believe in that play.” – Sarlin

QuTwo’s modest valuation and round size give it the freedom to pursue a 5‑ to 10‑year roadmap with less pressure.

Funding History & Angel Round

• Previous funding: Solely backed by Sarlin’s family office, PostScriptum, which also incubated NestAI.
• NestAI raise: ≈ $115 million (Finland’s sovereign fund & Nokia).
• Angel round rationale:
  • Geopolitical climate – Europe is favoring local alternatives to U.S. tech providers.
  • Desire to avoid traditional VC terms while still gaining strategic introductions.

Notable Angel Investors

• Yuri Milner
• Xavier Niel
• Nico Rosberg
• Dieter Schwarz
• Niklas Zennström
• Founders from Hugging Space, Legora, Miro, Skype, Supercell, Wolt, etc.

These investors can open doors across Europe’s automotive, life‑sciences, and gaming sectors.

Expansion & Team

• Geography: Recently expanded into Sweden; active hiring.
• Team size: ~50 quantum and AI scientists.
• Key hires:
  • Kaj‑Mikael Björk – former Silo co‑founder.
  • Kuan Yen Tan – co‑founder of IQM, the Finnish quantum company set to go public.

“The question for repeat founders like us is how can we have an even larger impact. In the long term, it’s important for Europe that we build the AI company for the next paradigm out of Europe. But, in the short term, we can have a significant impact in driving ambitious R&D moon shots in Europe.” – Sarlin

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Anna Heim – writer and editorial consultant.

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