eleQtron
eleQtron develops and operates trapped-ion quantum computers based on its proprietary MAGIC microwave-control technology, selling HiQ/HiQ+ QPUs and cloud access to European government, research, and industrial customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersSiegen, Germany
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What eleQtron does
eleQtron GmbH, founded in May 2020 as a spin-off from the University of Siegen, develops and operates trapped-ion quantum computers for industrial and scientific customers in Germany and broader Europe. The company builds its systems around a proprietary approach called MAGIC (Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling), in which ion qubits are manipulated using microwave and radio-frequency signals generated through miniaturized, smartphone-grade components and Direct Digital Synthesis hardware from Spectrum Instrumentation, rather than the laser-based control systems common in competing ion-trap architectures. Current systems deliver room-temperature HiQ QPUs with up to 30 qubits, with a cryogenic HiQ+ QPU targeting up to 60 qubits scheduled for delivery in 2026 to Forschungszentrum Jülich.
The company's commercial offering spans on-premise hardware sales (HiQ and HiQ+ QPUs and full quantum computer systems) and a planned cloud-based access channel for selling compute time to enterprise and research users. Anchor customers are concentrated in German and EU government and research institutions — notably DLR (€82M QCI consortium contract with ParityQC and NXP) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (€21M NRW-funded EPIQ project integrated into the JURECA DC supercomputer) — with the company citing an order backlog exceeding €54 million. The customer base is described as hybrid, addressing industrial enterprises in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive, logistics, and finance as well as research and public-sector buyers, with European technology sovereignty positioning as a core narrative.
Operationally, eleQtron has scaled from roughly 30 international experts in 2023 to over 100 employees across headquarters in Siegen and a second office in Hamburg by 2026, and closed a €57 million Series A in May 2026 led by Schwarz Digits with EIC Fund, Earlybird and other deep-tech investors participating. The company is also embedded in the German deep-tech ecosystem through BMBF-funded MAGIC-App work with Infineon, the FullStaQD software-stack initiative, and an FMD collaboration on scalable ion-trap chip production — positioning it as an integrated hardware platform play rather than a pure research spin-off.
eleQtron firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- eleQtron
- Legal name
- eleQtron GmbH
- Website
- https://eleqtron.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- eleQtron develops and operates trapped-ion quantum computers based on its proprietary MAGIC microwave-control technology, selling HiQ/HiQ+ QPUs and cloud access to European government, research, and industrial customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
eleQtron industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Quantum Computing Hardware
- NAICS
- Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (334), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing (333242)
- SIC
- Electronic Computers (3571), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Microwave/RF Signal Generation, Up/Downconversion & LO Chains (HDAGABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Quantum Hardware Architecture & Systems Engineering Research (HDAGAMAB), Quantum Cloud Infrastructure & QPU Hosting (HDAGAIAA), Quantum Application Engineering & Solution Delivery Services (HDAGALAD)
Keywords
Where eleQtron is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Siegen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
eleQtron business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Quantum Computer Hardware Sales: Sale of trapped-ion quantum computers to customers including research institutions and government agencies. Primary revenue driver evidenced by €54M+ order backlog and major contracts with DLR and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
- Quantum Computing Time Access: Selling compute time on quantum computers via cloud-based access. Company develops and operates quantum computers, offering access to customers who do not wish to purchase systems outright.
- Quantum Processor Units (QPUs): Sale of quantum processor units as part of systems, with QPUs available in room temperature (HiQ) and cryogenic (HiQ+) variants with increasing qubit capacity.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
eleQtron product offering
Product offeringCore offering
eleQtron develops, manufactures, and operates trapped-ion quantum computers based on its proprietary MAGIC (Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling) technology, which uses microwave radiation instead of lasers to control qubits. It sells quantum processing units (HiQ and HiQ+ QPUs) and complete systems to research institutions, government agencies, and industrial enterprises, and offers cloud-based access to its quantum computers for customers that do not purchase systems outright.
Product overview
eleQtron develops and operates trapped-ion quantum computers based on its proprietary MAGIC (Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling) technology. The company offers a platform of quantum processing units (HiQ and HiQ+ QPUs) ranging from 30 to 60+ qubits, accessible both through cloud-based services and on-premise installations. The MAGIC technology replaces traditional laser control with microwave-based qubit control, enabling better scalability and stability. The company provides quantum computing time and hardware to customers in research and industry sectors including logistics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automotive, and finance.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- HiQ Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) Room-temperature trapped-ion quantum processing unit based on MAGIC technology, with up to 30 qubits. Designed for research institutions and HPC centers as a first-generation commercial QPU.
- HiQ+ Cryogenic QPU Cryogenic trapped-ion quantum processing unit based on MAGIC technology, targeting up to 60 qubits with enhanced cooling for improved qubit control and scalability.
- Cloud-Based Quantum Computing Access Remote, cloud-based access to eleQtron's MAGIC-based trapped-ion quantum computers, enabling enterprise and research customers to run quantum workloads without on-premise hardware installation.
Quantifiable outcome
- Order backlog exceeding €54 million demonstrates commercial traction
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use eleQtron
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
eleQtron technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
eleQtron partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- FullStaQD Consortium (led by Fraunhofer IAO)coreGermany's largest quantum software stack initiative. eleQtron is sole hardware partner providing MAGIC-based ion-trap processors as physical reference platform. Funded by Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space Travel (BMFTR).
- Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD)coreLong-term collaboration with FMD institutes (Fraunhofer ENAS, Fraunhofer ISIT) for scalable quantum chip production in Europe. Focus on heterogeneous integration, MEMS/CMOS compatible processes, and novel packaging for MAGIC ion-trap architecture.
- Forschungszentrum JülichcoreEPIQ project partnership. Development of modular quantum supercomputer integrated with Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC). €21M NRW government funding. Pilot system with HiQ (30 qubits) delivered 2024, HiQ+ (60 qubits) planned 2026.
- EIN Quantum NRW NetworksecondaryNRW quantum computing network bringing together industry and academic quantum expertise. Nucleus for EPIQ project partnership with Forschungszentrum Jülich.
- Infineon TechnologiescoreMAGIC-App project partnership. Infineon provides ion traps and expertise for QPU production. Infineon Villach site offers quantum test laboratory for trapped-ion technology. Collaboration to develop three generations of ion traps for MAGIC concept.
- NXP SemiconductorscoreDLR QCI consortium partner with ParityQC. Contributing chip manufacturing expertise and Hamburg-based quantum research capabilities. Part of €82M DLR contract.
- ParityQCcoreQuantum architecture company (spin-out of University of Innsbruck) providing quantum computer operating system and architectures. Partner in DLR QCI consortium and MAGIC-App project.
- Spectrum InstrumentationsecondaryTechnology provider supplying DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis) technology for microwave ion control in eleQtron's quantum computers.
- University of SiegencoreSpin-off origin. Research group of Quantum Optics department. Founder Prof. Dr. Christof Wunderlich continues academic research while remaining shareholder.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
eleQtron competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- IonQ: NYSE-listed trapped-ion quantum computing company. Closest direct competitor to eleQtron in trapped-ion modality, target markets (enterprise and research cloud access), and product positioning (gate-based QPUs sold via cloud and on-premise).
- Universal Quantum: UK/German trapped-ion quantum computing startup also targeting scalable, modular ion-trap hardware. Directly comparable technology modality and European customer base overlap with eleQtron.
- Quantinuum: Trapped-ion quantum computing leader formed from the merger of Honeywell Quantum Solutions and Cambridge Quantum. Directly comparable in trapped-ion gate-based architecture, HPC-integration strategy, and enterprise/government customer focus.
Emerging players
- QuEra Computing: US-based neutral-atom quantum hardware company with significant cloud access offering. Competes for similar hybrid HPC integration and government-funded research workloads.
- Pasqal: French neutral-atom quantum computing company. Competes for European sovereign cloud quantum budgets and industrial use cases (chemistry, optimization) targeted by eleQtron.
- Rigetti Computing: Superconducting quantum hardware and cloud-access provider. Competes in the same mid-stage quantum hardware and quantum cloud services market with comparable enterprise sales motion and government contracts.
- Atom Computing: Neutral-atom quantum computing company building large-scale gate-based systems. Competes in the same enterprise / research buyer pool and is exploring HPC integration use cases similar to EPIQ.
- PsiQuantum: Photonics-based fault-tolerant quantum computing company pursuing utility-scale systems. Competes for sovereign-grade quantum procurement and large enterprise partnerships that are part of eleQtron's addressable market.
Broad incumbents
- D-Wave Quantum: Public quantum computing company pioneering quantum annealing and now hybrid quantum–classical gate models. Competes for the same optimization and enterprise procurement budgets as eleQtron despite a different qubit modality.
- IBM Quantum: Superconducting-based quantum computing business unit of IBM. Broad incumbent in the same enterprise and research customer segments, with cloud access (IBM Cloud) and large-scale government and HPC partnerships competing for similar budgets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
eleQtron social profiles
Digital presenceeleQtron financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
eleQtron leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
eleQtron funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
eleQtron M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about eleQtron
What does eleQtron do?
eleQtron develops, manufactures, and operates trapped-ion quantum computers based on its proprietary MAGIC (Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling) technology, which uses microwave radiation instead of lasers to control qubits. It sells quantum processing units (HiQ and HiQ+ QPUs) and complete systems to research institutions, government agencies, and industrial enterprises, and offers cloud-based access to its quantum computers for customers that do not purchase systems outright.
Is eleQtron a public or private company?
eleQtron is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was eleQtron founded?
eleQtron was founded in 2020. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is eleQtron based?
eleQtron is headquartered in Siegen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does eleQtron make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Quantum Computer Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are quantum Computing Time Access and quantum Processor Units (QPUs).
Who are eleQtron's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are IonQ, Universal Quantum and Quantinuum. Emerging players are QuEra Computing, Pasqal, Rigetti Computing, Atom Computing and PsiQuantum. Broad incumbents are D-Wave Quantum and IBM Quantum.
Does eleQtron have an API?
No public API is recorded for eleQtron.
What industry is eleQtron in?
eleQtron's product category is Quantum Computing Hardware. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAGABAG, Microwave/RF Signal Generation, Up/Downconversion & LO Chains, with a secondary code of HDAGAMAB, Quantum Hardware Architecture & Systems Engineering Research. Its NAICS code is 334 and its SIC code is 3571.