Equal1 wants to take quantum computers out of specialised labs and into ordinary data centres. Equal1, a Dublin company, builds qubits on silicon-germanium chips made with standard semiconductor processes, with control electronics and ARM processor cores on the same chip, so that a quantum computer can run in a normal data centre rack.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,500,000 towards a €5.36 million project, QUENML, part of an EIC package the company put at €10 million with equity. In March 2025 Equal1 launched Bell-1, a rack-mounted server with a six-qubit processor, and in January 2026 it raised $60 million, with the EIC Fund among its investors. Its first announced installation is at the European Space Agency.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Equal 1 Laboratories Ireland Limited, Dublin
- CEO
- Jason Lynch (earlier Dirk Leipold)
- Technology
- SiGe spin qubits with on-chip control (UnityQ)
- Product
- Bell-1 rack-mounted quantum server
- Partners
- ESA, Bull, Q-CTRL, ICHEC, CeADAR
- Investors
- ISIF, Atlantic Bridge, EIC Fund, Matterwave, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone, TNO Ventures
- EIC project
- QUENML, 1 Jun 2022 to 31 Dec 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
Where Equal1 Stands Today
The January 2026 round came from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, the EIC Fund, Matterwave Ventures, Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone and TNO Ventures, bringing total funding to more than $85 million. CEO Jason Lynch said it "marks the transition of Equal1 from development to deployment". Equal1 said it would install a Bell-1 at ESA's Space HPC Center in Italy. Its recent posts describe research on measuring entanglement and partnerships with Bull and Q-CTRL for data-centre quantum computing.
The Technology: Qubits on a Standard Chip
Bell-1, according to Equal1's launch announcement, is a 600 × 1,000 × 1,600 mm, 200 kg server drawing 1,600 watts, "comparable to an enterprise server", with a self-contained cooler that reaches 0.3 kelvin without a dilution refrigerator. Its UnityQ processor has six qubits. The CORDIS report describes qubit chips operating below 4 kelvin, an ARM microprocessor running below 3.3 kelvin and "leading commercial SiGe qubit performance at 700mK", and warns that cooling power below 1 kelvin "will be a particular challenge" for larger systems.
"This $60M in funding marks the transition of Equal1 from development to deployment."
Jason Lynch, CEO, Equal1, January 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
QUENML, "quantum-enhanced machine learning", aimed to develop Equal1's silicon quantum hardware for AI workloads. CORDIS reports prototype qubit chips, cold-running control processors, the Bell-1 and Aquarius prototype systems and the March 2025 product launch "based on a six-qubit SiGe device". It reports no customer deployments or sales, and a plan to combine SiGe qubits with GlobalFoundries' 22 nm FD-SOI process.
- Working silicon qubit chipsDeliveredSiGe qubits at 700 mK.
- A deployable systemDeliveredBell-1 launched March 2025.
- Follow-on capitalDelivered$60M in 2026.
- Quantum advantage in machine learningNot shownSix qubits; no benchmark published.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
In December 2021 Equal1 announced €10 million from the EIC, combining a grant of up to €2.5 million with EIC Fund equity. The EIC Fund took part again in the January 2026 round. Neither the size of the EIC Fund's stakes nor Equal1's revenue is public.
What cannot be checked
How many Bell-1 systems have been sold or installed, their price, independent benchmarks of the qubits' quality and the EIC Fund's total investment are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
Equal1's approach builds on standard semiconductor manufacturing rather than custom quantum hardware lines. The EU backed it through both the EIC grant and the EIC Fund, and a European agency is its first announced customer site.
What the project promised
Quantum-enhanced machine learning on silicon quantum hardware.
What the record shows
Silicon qubit chips, a six-qubit rack server, $60M raised and an ESA installation planned.
The Verdict
Hardware built, usefulness still ahead
QUENML delivered chips and a product, and investors followed with $60 million. No published benchmark shows six qubits doing the machine learning the project's title promised, and Equal1's own EU report names cooling as the barrier to scaling. The next test is how many qubits the next generation brings.
Equal1 has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements and EU project data, linked throughout.
