Quanfluence, a Bengaluru-based company, has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by pi Ventures. The round also saw participation from Golden Sparrow and Reena Dayal, founder and CEO of the Quantum Ecosystems and Technology Council of India (QETCI). The company plans to use the funding to scale its current products and advance its research and development initiatives. It also aims to deliver near-term optimisation tools and develop a general-purpose quantum computer based on the continuous variable photonics paradigm within five to six years. According to Sujoy Chakravarty, co-founder and CEO of Quanfluence, the funding will help enhance their photonic-based technologies and accelerate the development of their quantum computer. Quanfluence’s optical Ising machine, which powers its optimisation technology, uses light waves and advanced photonic circuits to efficiently process vast amounts of data. This technology has the potential to transform industries such as finance, logistics, and workforce management by addressing high-dimensional optimisation problems. The company’s current system can handle 128 interconnected variables and has been successfully piloted with select customers for small-scale problems. An advanced version capable of processing 10-25 million permutations is set for release next quarter. Shubham Sandeep, managing director at pi Ventures, believes that Quanfluence’s photonic-based technology has the potential to transform industries where classical computing falls short. The company conducts all its R&D and hardware development locally, positioning itself as a key player in India’s effort to lead global innovation in quantum technology.
