Graduate Ventures has officially reached its 80th investment milestone, highlighting the rapidly developing Dutch deeptech industry. This major investment supports FrostByte, a Delft business that aims to tackle one of the biggest physical limits to building large-scale, commercial quantum computers.
FrostByte raised 1.3 million euros from Graduate Ventures, Innovation Quarter, Paeonia Group, UNIIQ, and an private angel investor.
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Resolving Quantum Scaling Limits
Quantum computing from lab to industry is a “software problem” for engineers. As qubits multiply, external component control becomes exponentially more complex and complex in traditional quantum designs.
FrostByte’s control electronics and chips shift part of the quantum computer’s control architecture closer to its core. Cryo-CMOS chips, which run at quantum processing temperatures, allow FrostByte to make systems smaller, more powerful, and easier to scale. This technology is essential for most companies building large-scale quantum systems worldwide.
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A Bridge Between Science and Industry
FrostByte is a spin-off of TU Delft and QuTech, a quantum technology leader. CEO James Kroll and CTO Luc Enthoven lead the startup, which Fabio Sebastiano and Masoud Babaie advise scientifically. The advisors, pioneers in cryo-CMOS research, are moving lifetimes of academic research into commercial hardware. “FrostByte shows the Dutch knowledge economy’s potential,” said Auke van den Hout, Managing Partner at Graduate Ventures. He stressed that the investment supports the fund’s goal of finding foundational research in quantum, AI, and climate tech and funding commercial application.
The Graduate Ventures partnership is strategic for James Kroll. “For a deeptech player like us, Graduate is a uniquely well-suited investor,” Kroll said, highlighting the fund’s network of experienced startups and awareness of the tough route to commercializing academic research.
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Five Years of “Giving Back”
Graduate Ventures, founded in 2021 by Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus MC, and TU Delft alumni, is one of the Netherlands’ most active early-stage investors. With a 10 million euro pre-seed fund and a 50 million euro seed fund, the organization has averaged 16 deals per year since its founding.
The fund is defined by its “Giving Back” culture. Along with 60 million euros in managed money, the fund uses approximately 200 experienced startups and investors. This network has helped portfolio founders connect with industry professionals over 600 times, offering guidance and market access that early-stage firms often lack.
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The Path to Category Leadership
FrostByte joins an ambitious portfolio with international success. Graduate Ventures supported several QuTech spin-offs, including QuantWare, a global supplier of superconducting quantum processors with customers in over 20 countries.
The “Graduate model” was brilliantly shown days before FrostByte’s release. QuantWare announced an oversubscribed 152 million euro Series B investment headed by a multinational consortium. Graduate Ventures, an early backer, joined in this enormous follow-on round, showing their capacity to help firms from pre-seed to global scale-ups.
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A Diverse Engine for Innovation
Quantum technology is a fundamental cornerstone, but the 80-company portfolio addresses global issues. Graduate invested in climate tech companies Hydryx, Back to Battery, and Skoon Energy. Its AI and digital portfolio includes Eddy Grid and Iconic Works.
High-potential talent across multiple areas has been identified throughout the fund’s investments:
- Medical & Health: Investing in Crescent Med, Rapidemic, and Sensible Health.
- Logistics & Mobility: Backing Sparqle, Clickdrive, and Rocsys.
- Deeptech & Engineering: Supporting Fusion Engineering, SPHERICAL Systems, and Memsys.
As Graduate Ventures approaches its sixth year, the 80th FrostByte investment reflects a growing ecosystem where Dutch institutions and private investors work together. FrostByte may help the next 80 startups in the ecosystem use a quantum computer by overcoming the control architecture constraint.
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