What Qnami does

Qnami AG is a Swiss deep-technology company that develops diamond-based quantum sensing instruments for nanoscale magnetic field imaging. Its core technology exploits nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in synthetic diamonds, deployed through scanning NV magnetometry to perform quantitative, non-perturbative analysis of surface magnetic fields at the atomic scale. The company was founded in 2016 by researchers including Prof. Patrick Maletinsky from the University of Basel, with operations headquartered in Muttenz, Switzerland and a wholly-owned subsidiary in Freiburg, Germany.

The company's flagship product is ProteusQ, the first commercial scanning NV microscope for magnetic materials analysis, complemented by the ProteusQ-LT low-temperature variant, Quantilever MX/MX+ NV-center diamond probes (consumables), Magneto PQ and Vario PQ accessories, the AppLab remote measurement service, and the Quantum Foundry custom diamond fabrication offering. Qnami serves academic research institutions and industrial R&D labs working in materials science, spintronics, quantum computing materials characterization, and magnetic memory development, with named customers including UC Berkeley, MPI for Chemical Physics of Solids, CNRS, RPTU Kaiserslautern, Tsinghua University, and Arizona State University/IMEC.

The business model rests on capital equipment sales (ProteusQ systems) distributed globally through an exclusive partnership with Horiba Scientific, with additional East Asian channels via Quantum Design Japan and Korea. Revenue mechanics include hardware sales of instruments and consumables, plus professional services revenue from AppLab and Quantum Foundry. Following its June 2026 acquisition by Quantum Design, Qnami operates as part of a larger scientific instrumentation organization while retaining its brand and product portfolio.

Name

Qnami

Legal name

Qnami AG

Website

https://qnami.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Qnami develops diamond-based quantum sensing instruments, notably the ProteusQ scanning NV microscope, for nanoscale magnetic field imaging. It serves academic and industrial R&D labs globally and was acquired by Quantum Design in June 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Instrumentation - Quantum Sensing

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantum Magnetometry (SQUID/OPM/NV and related) (HDAGAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantum Sensor Components & Subsystems (Lasers, Vacuum, Photonics, Diamond/NV, MEMS) (HDAGAHAM), Quantum Sensing, Metrology & Imaging Research (HDAGAMAJ)

Keywords

• Quantum sensing instruments
• Scanning NV magnetometry
• Diamond quantum probes
• Nanoscale magnetic imaging
• Quantum microscopy systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Muttenz

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Scientific Instruments - ProteusQ: Sale of quantum microscopy systems including ProteusQ and ProteusQ-LT for academic and industrial research applications.
2. Diamond Probes and Accessories: Sale of consumables and accessories including Quantilever MX/MX+ probes, Magneto PQ, and Vario PQ accessories.
3. Application Laboratory Services: Remote measurement services enabling customers to access ProteusQ capabilities without owning the system.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Qnami develops and commercializes diamond-based quantum sensing instruments, centered on its ProteusQ scanning NV (nitrogen-vacancy) microscope that enables quantitative and non-perturbative analysis of surface magnetic fields at the nanoscale. The company also sells proprietary diamond probes (Quantilever MX/MX+), system accessories, custom diamond fabrication services (Quantum Foundry), and remote measurement services (AppLab) to academic and industrial R&D customers.

Product overview

Qnami offers a portfolio of quantum sensing products centered around its ProteusQ scanning NV (nitrogen-vacancy) microscope, which is the company's flagship product for nanoscale magnetic field imaging. The core ProteusQ system works in conjunction with Quantilever MX/MX+ diamond probes containing NV centers that serve as quantum sensors. Qnami also provides complementary accessories including Magneto PQ and Vario PQ, along with service offerings such as AppLab for measurement services and Quantum Foundry for custom diamond quantum chip fabrication. The company sells the ProteusQ exclusively through its distributor partner Horiba Scientific. The portfolio enables applications in nanotechnology, life science, earth science, quantum computing, spintronics, and advanced semiconductor characterization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ProteusQ: Scanning NV (nitrogen-vacancy) microscope for quantitative and non-perturbative analysis of surface magnetic fields at the atomic scale.
• ProteusQ-LT
• Quantilever MX
• Quantilever MX+
• Magneto PQ
• Vario PQ
• AppLab
• Quantum Foundry

Products and services

• ProteusQ Scanning NV Microscope ProteusQ is a quantum microscope for Scanning NV Magnetometry that enables quantitative and non-perturbative analysis of surface magnetic fields at the atomic scale. It captures surface magnetic fields with nanoscale resolution using diamond-based quantum sensing technology and is sold to academic research institutions and industrial R&D labs.
• ProteusQ-LT Low Temperature System ProteusQ-LT is a variant of the ProteusQ microscope designed for low-temperature (cryogenic) environments, enabling scanning NV microscopy at cryogenic temperatures for advanced quantum materials research. Sold to academic and industrial research labs.
• Quantilever MX Diamond Probe Quantilever MX is a diamond probe containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers used as quantum sensors in the ProteusQ microscope for magnetic field sensing at the nanoscale. Sold as a consumable to ProteusQ users.
• Quantilever MX+ Diamond Probe Quantilever MX+ is an enhanced version of the Quantilever MX diamond probe with improved fluorescence count rate and reduced data acquisition time, designed for publication-quality quantum sensing measurements.
• Magneto PQ Accessory Magneto PQ is an accessory product for the ProteusQ system that extends measurement capabilities for magnetic field sensing experiments.
• Vario PQ Accessory Vario PQ is an accessory product for the ProteusQ system that provides additional measurement flexibility for quantum sensing experiments.
• AppLab Application Laboratory Service AppLab is an application laboratory service that provides remote access to ProteusQ measurements and expertise, enabling customers to obtain quantum sensing data without owning the system.
• Quantum Foundry Custom Diamond Fabrication Quantum Foundry provides custom diamond quantum chip fabrication services, enabling partners to design and develop high-quality, scalable diamond quantum solutions for quantum sensing applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• ProteusQ outperforms any scanning NV setup in terms of stability, linearity, low drift rates and ease-of-use
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and major.

• Quantum DesignflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Acquisition completed in June 2026. Quantum Design acquired Qnami to enhance capabilities in quantum materials and applications. Qnami becomes part of Quantum Design's expanding portfolio in quantum computing, sensing, and information technologies.
• Quantum Design Japan and KoreacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 February 2024Commercial partnership to bring Qnami's quantum sensing platform to East Asian markets (Japan and Korea).
• Horiba ScientificcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive global distribution partner for ProteusQ quantum microscope systems. Developed ProteusQ in collaboration with Horiba Scientific, with ProteusQ available exclusively through Horiba's distribution network.
• University of BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrigin of Qnami's technology from Prof. Patrick Maletinsky's lab at the Physics Department of University of Basel. Ongoing academic research collaboration and talent pipeline.
• QSENS Consortium PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerQnami Germany part of QSENS cluster with Universities of Stuttgart and Ulm, 3 research institutes, and 18 industrial partners. Focus on developing innovative quantum sensors for quantum computing materials, personalized medicine, automated driving, and IT applications.
• VerticalComputemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to support European semiconductor innovation by providing quantum metrology solutions for next-generation, high-performance, energy-efficient chiplets development.
• ASTERIQS Project (EU Quantum Flagship)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of 25 European projects funded by the first call of the EU Quantum Flagship. Project aims to develop diamond quantum sensing technologies including scanning diamond magnetometers, high dynamic range magnetic field sensors, and lab-on-chip NMR detectors.
• Nvision Imaging TechnologiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with Quantum Foundry team to design and develop high quality and scalable quantum sensing solutions for Nvision products.
• QSIT (NCCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss National Center of Competence in Research for Quantum Science and Technology. Qnami received early support from QSIT to transition from lab to market.
• DIADEMS ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean consortium (DIAmond Devices Enabled Metrology and Sensing) reporting to European Commission, exploiting properties of ultra-pure CVD diamond for quantum sensing technologies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• attocube systems: German-based manufacturer of low-temperature scanning probe microscopy systems and nanopositioning equipment serving quantum materials and physics research labs; overlapping customer base and product category (cryogenic nanoscale imaging).
• RHK Technology: Specialises in ultra-high vacuum scanning probe microscopy and STM/AFM systems for research applications including quantum materials; comparable as a niche scanning probe instrument vendor serving similar academic customers.
• Horiba Scientific: Exclusive global distribution partner for ProteusQ; develops and sells advanced spectroscopic and microscopic instruments for materials research. Closely comparable as Qnami's go-to-market partner in scientific instrumentation for nanotechnology and materials science labs.

Emerging players

• QDTI (Quantum Diamond Technologies): Develops NV-diamond based quantum sensing solutions for biomedical and industrial applications. Directly comparable technology stack (NV-center diamond magnetometry) targeting adjacent use cases.
• Nvision Imaging Technologies: Startup developing scalable quantum sensing solutions; partnership with Qnami's Quantum Foundry team. Comparable as a quantum-sensing focused peer targeting industrial applications of NV-based magnetometry.

Broad incumbents

• M Squared Lasers: UK-based photonics and quantum technology company offering quantum sensing and imaging platforms (including diamond-NV magnetometry) for research and commercial applications. Comparable in quantum sensing instruments with broader product portfolio.
• Oxford Instruments (NanoScience): Major supplier of cryogenic systems and scientific instruments for quantum computing and physics research including low-temperature scanning probe systems; serves overlapping customer base of quantum materials and physics labs.
• Quantum Design: Global leader in scientific instrumentation and advanced materials characterisation; acquired Qnami in 2026. Comparable as the broader commercial vehicle through which Qnami's scanning NV magnetometry reaches materials research labs worldwide.
• Bruker (Bruker Nano Surfaces): Major scientific instrument manufacturer offering atomic force microscopy (AFM), magnetic force microscopy, and other nanoscale characterisation tools that partially overlap with scanning NV magnetometry for magnetic materials analysis.

Regional players

• Zurich Instruments: Swiss-based manufacturer of lock-in amplifiers, quantum measurement control systems, and signal processing instruments for quantum computing and physics research; complementary rather than directly competing, but serving overlapping academic quantum labs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Qnami_
• Facebookfacebook.com/qnami.ch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qnami

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Qnami