What Aqora does

Aqora is a Paris-headquartered SaaS platform (legally AQORA QUANTUM S.A.S., registered at 58 rue d'Hauteville, 75010 Paris, within Station F's Les Maisons du Quantique) that connects enterprises seeking quantum computing solutions with a global community of quantum experts through structured competitions, hackathons, and collaborative problem-solving. Founded in 2023 as a commercial spin-out of the École Polytechnique alumni association QuantX, the company serves a dual-sided market: enterprises (corporations, recruiters, consulting firms, event organizers) looking to access quantum talent and benchmark algorithms, and individual quantum experts (researchers, PhD students, practitioners) seeking to demonstrate expertise and find employment opportunities. The platform is also positioned as a neutral community hub aligned with the UN-declared International Year of Quantum Science and Technology 2025, through its membership in the Open Quantum Institute (OQI) at CERN.

The platform consists of a Competitions module with leaderboards and hidden test sets, a Datasets Hub that registers a DataCite DOI for every published dataset version to enable reproducible QML benchmarks, Workspaces supporting interactive code execution (apps, demos, notebooks, agents), a Discussions community forum, an Events module, and a dedicated quantum job board (quantum.jobs) plus a quantum-service sub-offering called Q3AS. The stated technology stack is built on React Router, Relay, Vite, and GraphQL with server-side rendering. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, combining a self-serve freemium tier for individual users (with social login via Google and GitHub) and direct enterprise sales for competition hosting; the company monetizes through competition hosting fees (prize funds are deposited with Aqora and disbursed after KYC/AML), subscription or usage-based paid services billed in EUR with VAT, and potential job-posting revenue on quantum.jobs.

Traction data is meaningful for a niche vertical platform launched only 14 months prior: 1,000+ registered users (approximately 3% of the global quantum community), 40+ competitions hosted, 372 submitted solutions, 38 use cases addressed, and 600 participants in the Quantum Industry Challenge 2025 — described by the company as the world's biggest virtual quantum hackathon. The platform counts leading quantum hardware and software providers (Quantinuum, Quandela, Rigetti, Classiq, Infleqtion) as active participants, alongside named customers and partners including BMW Group, ingenii, PushQuantum, École Polytechnique, Connected DMV, Mila, AMF, and NovaceneAI. The team remains lean at 11–15 people led by co-founder and CEO Jannes Stubbemann, with Alexandre Krajenbrink as President and Elvira Shishenina as General Director, and no institutional funding round has been disclosed.

Name

Aqora

Legal name

AQORA QUANTUM S.A.S.

Website

https://aqora.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aqora is a Paris-based platform connecting enterprises with quantum experts through competitions, hackathons, and a versioned dataset hub. It serves companies seeking quantum solutions, quantum professionals showcasing expertise, and recruiters via a dedicated quantum job board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Quantum Computing Platform

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Quantum Community, Developer Relations & Ecosystem Programs (HDAGALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Provider Quantum Aggregators & Marketplaces (HDAGAIAC), Quantum Data Management & Result Pipelines (HDAGAIAH), Managed Quantum Services & Operations (M-QOps) (HDAGALAL)

Keywords

• Quantum computing platform
• Quantum hackathons
• Competition hosting
• Quantum talent marketplace
• Quantum datasets hub

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Competition Hosting Fees: Companies and organizations pay to host competitions on the platform. Prize funds must be deposited with Aqora before competition launch. Aqora disburses prizes to winners subject to KYC/AML screening.
2. Paid Services: Some platform services are free while others are paid. Paid Services may be billed in EUR or other currency with VAT applicable. Subscription or usage-based models implied.
3. Job Board (quantum.jobs): Quantum-focused job board connecting talents with teams. Revenue may come from employers posting job listings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Aqora operates a quantum computing collaboration platform where companies host competitions and use cases and a global community of quantum experts solves them. The platform combines skills-based Competitions, a versioned Datasets Hub for reproducible benchmarks, interactive Workspaces for code execution, hosted Events, a Discussions community, and a dedicated quantum job board (quantum.jobs). Enterprises can also access Q3AS, a quantum computing service offering for applied use cases.

Product overview

Aqora is a quantum computing platform connecting companies with quantum experts through competitions, hackathons, and collaborative problem-solving. The core platform includes Competitions for skills-based challenges and leaderboards, a Datasets Hub for reproducible quantum benchmarks, Workspaces for interactive code execution, Events for hackathons, and Discussions for community knowledge sharing. The ecosystem is supplemented by quantum.jobs (a dedicated quantum job board) and Q3AS (a quantum solution service). The platform also hosts community organizations and facilitates real-world use case exploration through hands-on events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Platform (Competitions) Skills-based quantum computing competitions with leaderboards, hidden test sets, judging criteria, and prize disbursement, allowing companies to crowdsource solutions and quantum experts to demonstrate expertise.
• Datasets Hub Repository for publishing, discovering, and reusing quantum computing datasets with version control, DataCite DOI registration, and licensing, enabling reproducible benchmarks and QML experiments.
• Workspaces Interactive applications and execution environments (apps, demos, notebooks, agents) that can run user-provided code for quantum computing tasks and experiments.
• Events Online and in-person quantum hackathons, competitions, and events that bring together quantum experts and enthusiasts for collaborative problem-solving.
• Job Board (quantum.jobs) Dedicated job board connecting quantum computing talent with companies hiring in the quantum technology field.
• Q3AS A quantum computing service offering referenced on the Aqora platform, described as a solution for companies seeking quantum computing applications.
• Discussions Community discussion forum for questions and answers related to quantum computing, enabling knowledge sharing among the global quantum community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Winning solutions of first competition exceeded existing benchmarks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Open Quantum Institute (OQI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 January 2025Aqora is a member of the Open Quantum Institute (OQI) at CERN community, committed to advancing the global development of quantum computing and making it accessible for all. This aligns with Aqora's mission during the International Year of Quantum 2025.
• ingeniicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted first competition to optimize clinical trials based on Mayo Clinic dataset. Winning solutions exceeded existing benchmarks, demonstrating quantum computing's potential for pharmaceutical applications.
• QuantXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAqora emerged from QuantX, an association of École Polytechnique alumni. First BIG Quantum Hackathon held in Paris October 2021. QuantX roots provide authentic community connections in quantum education.
• QuantinuumcoreTechnology or IntegrationQuantinuum is present on the Aqora platform as an organization. Science-led enterprise combining Cambridge Quantum software with Honeywell Quantum Solutions trapped-ion hardware. Hosted Bradford Quantum Hackathon 2025.
• QuandelacoreTechnology or IntegrationLeading quantum computing company designing datacenter-ready quantum systems and cloud-accessible processors. Active on Aqora platform with datasets and Quantum Finance Frontier 2025 hackathon co-organization.
• NovaceneAIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted Cybersecurity Challenge Advanced Threat Detection at Aqora Hackathon.
• Connected DMVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWashington D.C.-based 501(c)(3) organization focused on public-private-academia-community collaboration for next-generation industries. Active on Aqora platform.
• PushQuantumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMunich-based student club offering real-world focused education in quantum tech. Members use Aqora for competition participation and skill demonstration.
• Girls in QuantumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganization creating spaces for girls and teenagers to learn quantum computing. Active on Aqora platform.
• Qiskit Fall FestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAqora hosts Quantum Finance Frontier 2025 hackathon as part of Qiskit Fall Fest 2025 Paris-Saclay, organized with Mila, Quandela, and AMF.
• MilacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI research institute co-organizing Quantum Finance Frontier 2025 hackathon with Aqora, Quandela, and AMF as part of Qiskit Fall Fest 2025 Paris-Saclay.
• Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench financial markets regulator co-organizing Quantum Finance Frontier 2025 hackathon focused on financial modeling algorithms.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HackerRank: Coding challenges and competitive assessments platform used heavily for technical hiring. Comparable to Aqora on competition format, leaderboards, and recruiter as a customer segment, but general-purpose rather than quantum-specialized.
• Topcoder: Pioneer in competitive programming and crowdsourced software competitions. Comparable business model of company-sponsored competitions with prize disbursement, overlapping with Aqora's competition-hosting revenue stream.
• Kaggle: The canonical data science competitions platform (now part of Google). Most direct structural analog to Aqora in terms of skills-based competitions, leaderboards, datasets, and talent discovery; Aqora is the verticalized quantum-specialized version of this model.
• Strangeworks: Quantum software platform that aggregates access to multiple quantum hardware providers and runs its own community and educational programs. Overlaps Aqora's multi-provider aggregator role (Quantinuum, Quandela, Rigetti, IBM, etc.) and its community/developer-relations thrust.
• DrivenData: Hosts competitions that apply data science to social-impact and scientific problems. Closely mirrors Aqora's model of pairing domain experts with company-posed challenges and producing benchmark-beating solutions, though operating in classical ML rather than quantum.

Emerging players

• Classiq: Quantum software company focused on algorithm design, compilation, and execution tooling. Already an active partner on Aqora, but also a potential competing environment for quantum algorithm development and benchmarking that could pull community activity onto its own platform.
• QunaSys: Quantum chemistry and algorithm-focused company with a heavy emphasis on education, training, and developer engagement in quantum computing. Overlaps with Aqora's competition/training flywheel and could be a competitor or partner depending on execution.

Broad incumbents

• Quantinuum: Full-stack trapped-ion quantum hardware and software company (Honeywell Quantum + Cambridge Quantum). Both a partner on Aqora and a potential competitor: it runs its own hackathons (e.g., Bradford Quantum Hackathon) and has the resources to disintermediate Aqora's competition layer.
• Xanadu (with Xanadu Quantum Cloud / PennyLane): Photonic quantum hardware vendor with a strong developer/education ecosystem (PennyLane, QHack). Comparable in blending a quantum hardware story with developer relations - the same core territory Aqora aims to own through its platform.
• IBM Quantum: Largest incumbent quantum platform via Qiskit and IBM Quantum Network, with deep education/community programs and quantum prizes. A structural threat as a well-funded alternative venue for quantum talent competitions, education, and enterprise engagement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/aqora-io
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aqora-quantum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Aqora