LuxQuanta and the EIC Accelerator: Quantum Keys for City Networks

LuxQuanta, founded in May 2021 as a spin-off of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) near Barcelona and led by chief executive Vanesa Díaz, sells quantum key distribution (QKD) systems that use weak light signals over ordinary optical fibre to create encryption keys, so that any eavesdropping attempt changes the signal and becomes visible. Its product, NOVA LQ, uses continuous-variable QKD, which works with standard telecom components. Its EIC Accelerator project, MIQRO, set out to put the technology on photonic integrated chips for city networks. It received an EU contribution of €2,493,750 towards a total cost of €3,562,500 and ran from June 2024 to August 2026, according to CORDIS.

In October 2025 LuxQuanta closed an €8 million Series A led by Big Sur Ventures, with A&G as the largest investor and GMV, Wayra and the EIC Fund joining existing investors Corning and GTD, according to ICFO. The company said it had achieved multi-million euro sales in dozens of European countries and deployments in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the US. The project's first report records "timeline delays" and says a milestone on photonic chip hardware "was partially adjusted", according to CORDIS. No chip-based product has been launched.

Where LuxQuanta Stands Now

In 2026 LuxQuanta completed a proof of concept reproducing conditions on MADQCI, the Community of Madrid's quantum communications network, distributing keys over up to 100 km of standard fibre alongside ordinary data traffic and to several receivers from one transmitter, according to LuxQuanta. In 2025 its systems secured a link between two Vithas hospitals in Madrid over Telefónica's network. Empresia puts its annual turnover between €1 million and €2.5 million, according to Empresia.

The Technology: Keys Hidden in Light

Quantum computers could one day break today's public-key encryption, and data stolen now could be decrypted later. QKD sidesteps that by generating keys whose security rests on physics. The second-generation NOVA LQ, launched in March 2025, reaches secret key rates above 100 kilobits per second at 4 dB of fibre loss and works up to 20 dB, according to ICFO. MIQRO aimed to move the optics onto photonic chips to make the systems scalable for metropolitan networks.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

MIQRO promised scalable quantum cryptography for metropolitan networks built on integrated photonics. The first report says the chip hardware was designed, fabricated and partly characterised, electronics and new error-correction software were built, and a new design cycle was started after tests. The discrete-optics NOVA LQ is the product customers are buying; the chip version is not on the market.

1. Photonic chip hardwarePartialMilestone adjusted.
2. Signal processing softwareBuiltPending validation.
3. Metropolitan network validationDeliveredMADQCI test, NOVA LQ.
4. Chip-based productNot launchedNone announced.

The Money

The EIC backed LuxQuanta twice: through the grant and through the EIC Fund's stake in the Series A. The size of the EIC Fund's investment has not been published. LuxQuanta's full accounts were not accessible in free sources.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Madrid's MADQCI network is one of the quantum communication networks being built in Europe. A European supplier of QKD equipment that works on existing fibre gives governments and telecom operators an option that does not depend on foreign vendors. MIQRO was meant to make that equipment scalable.

The Verdict

LuxQuanta and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.