Quside, a member of our Next-Gen Computing group, is a Spanish company developing groundbreaking quantum random number generators (QRNGs). Operating at the intersection of quantum physics and semiconductor technology, Quside aims to revolutionise the way truly random numbers are generated, a fundamental building block for modern cryptography and cybersecurity.

By leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, Quside's QRNGs produce highly unpredictable and statistically perfect random numbers. This enhanced level of randomness significantly strengthens cryptographic protocols, protecting sensitive data and enabling secure digital transactions. Quside provides QRNGs to various companies, including those working in quantum key distribution (QKD) and post-quantum cryptography (PQC). 

Additionally, Quside's secret sauce is the ability to measure the quality of the random numbers in runtime. No current devices can do this, but Quside is pioneering this capability for the next generation of hardware.

A world-class team driving quantum innovation

Quside, a spin-off company from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona, was founded seven years ago by a team of technically oriented researchers. The company's core team invented the underlying quantum random number generation technology; among them Valerio Pruneri, a renowned inventor with numerous patents and significant industry experience, who is now a board member at Quside. 

Quside boasts a technical leadership team of experienced quantum engineers and scientists and several co-founders. The company’s co-founder Carlos Abellan, with whom we spoke for this article, is a telecom engineer, who played a key role in developing Quside's quantum random number generation technology. Having completed his PhD in this field, Abellan spearheaded early research efforts and now focuses on product development and commercialisation.

Two other co-founders are Waldimar Amaya, with over two decades of experience in quantum devices, who now oversees engineering and production, and Domenico Tulli, with a background in photonics and a strong track record in the industry, who now leads the company's efforts in scaling manufacturing. Their combined expertise is essential for driving Quside's technological advancements and ensuring the commercial success of its quantum random number generation solutions. Moving forward, the company recruited several other executives who have helped the company to commercialise and develop the business. 

From research to market: Quside's journey to commercialisation

Initially, Quside focused on research and prototyping but quickly realised the need to scale manufacturing. To achieve this, the company engaged with large-scale foundries, a significant investment that required a shift from a research-oriented mindset to an industrial one. This strategic pivot enabled Quside to establish a competitive advantage by achieving scalable production of quantum random number generation hardware.

Another major challenge Quside faced was market awareness and education. As a relatively new technology, quantum random number generation was not widely understood or adopted. To address this, the company had to invest significant effort in educating the market, developing easy-to-integrate products, and tailoring solutions to specific industry verticals. While the market landscape has evolved in recent years with increased awareness and regulatory developments, overcoming these initial challenges was crucial for Quside's growth.

Securing funding for a deep-tech company like Quside, especially in Europe, has been challenging. The company has employed a multi-faceted approach, combining equity investments, strategic partnerships, public funding, and competitive grants like the EIC Accelerator. 

“Deep-tech in general, and quantum in particular, is capital intensive. You need to develop a lot of technology before you can start developing scalable sales, and that is a cultural clash with investors. There is only a small subset of investors that understand these dynamics and are willing to take that bet,” Carlos Abellan shares. 

Despite the challenges, Quside achieved significant funding milestones in 2022 and 2023, including the successful Series A funding round and the securing of the EIC Accelerator grant and equity matching.

Quside's technological and commercial milestones

A critical milestone for Quside was establishing a scalable manufacturing process for photonic quantum chips. This capability, achieved through a partnership with a high-volume manufacturer, is currently unique in the industry. While Quside designs and optimises the manufacturing process, the actual production is outsourced to a specialised foundry. This approach ensures that the company can deliver its products at scale while maintaining high-quality standards.

Quside has also achieved other significant commercial milestones, including the deployment of its technology in Equinix data centers. This strategic partnership allows for global accessibility and demonstrates the readiness of quantum random number generation for immediate adoption. Additionally, integrations with companies like Thales further solidify Quside's position as a leading provider of quantum security solutions. 

“This is really a milestone for us because it's making it clear to the market that this technology is ready today. It's not something for the next five or ten years; it is ready for your next year’s budget,” Carlos Abellan emphasises.

Accelerating growth through EIC Scaling Club membership

Quside joined the EIC Scaling Club to benefit from mentorship and networking opportunities. The company expects the Club to help address Quside’s current growth challenges and anticipate future ones. In addition, the company hopes to gain more visibility, and new connections with potential investors and customers.

Quside's initial mentorship sessions within the Club highlighted the importance of building a robust ecosystem. Consequently, the company has been actively working to strengthen its internal product strategy and external partnerships. Recent collaborations with companies like Equinix and Thales, as well as other upcoming partnerships, are key components of this strategy. 

“It’s still too early to see the results in terms of revenue and growth, but our feeling about the EIC Scaling Club membership is very, very positive. We believe we're definitely doing better now than we were before we joined the program. Some of our mentors will soon be helping us with networking and introductions to potential customers, which we believe will be invaluable for our growth,” Carlos Abellan adds.

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

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