Firgun Ventures closes £53m to invest in UK quantum startups
This article covers Firgun Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm, which has closed a first investment round of £53m to back quantum computing startups. The development aims to provide early-stage capital for quantum startups, supporting commercialisation of quantum technologies in the UK and internationally.
Firgun Ventures has closed a first investment round of £53 million to back quantum computing startups, with the largest commitment coming from the Qatar Investment Authority. The London-based firm, co-founded by Dr Kris Naudts and Zeynep Koruturk, says it will begin deploying capital immediately and is targeting a full fund size of £195 million — a sign that institutional investors are starting to place bigger bets on quantum technology in the UK and beyond.
Why it matters
Quantum computing is moving from laboratory curiosity to a sector with real commercial pathways — from drug discovery to materials science and complex optimisation. Early-stage capital for quantum firms has been thin compared with other deep-tech categories, and Firgun’s first close and institutional backing indicate growing confidence among sovereign and private investors that the technology’s commercial runway is lengthening.
Who’s behind the fund
Firgun was founded by Dr Kris Naudts, an academic and entrepreneur with an early investor track record in quantum technologies, and Zeynep Koruturk, a former Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. Their investor list for the first close includes the Qatar Investment Authority, several international family offices, and Ilyas Khan, the founder of Quantinuum (formerly Cambridge Quantum Computing), a notable figure in the UK quantum scene.
In the announcement, Dr Kris Naudts, co-founder at Firgun Ventures, said:
There is a very good set of investment opportunities here. The UK’s strong academic ecosystem - particularly the Oxford-Cambridge-London triangle - has created a world-class pipeline of quantum innovation. Yet many of these companies hit funding barriers. Firgun intends to bridge that gap.
In the announcement, Zeynep Koruturk, co-founder at Firgun Ventures, said:
Quantum is moving from theoretical promise to commercial reality. With this first close, Firgun is positioned to support the most ambitious teams working at the frontier of the technology.
Inside the portfolio preview
Firgun has not yet announced its first investments but has flagged it will do so in the coming months. Founders and backers point to prior activity: the firm’s leadership were early backers of Quantinuum in 2016, suggesting they will favour teams with strong scientific roots that need patient capital to translate research into products.
Fund size and strategy
The firm will deploy capital from London and is targeting a £195 million fund, with this first close at £53 million providing initial ammunition. The composition of the first close — mixing sovereign capital, family offices and a sector founder — signals a strategy aimed at both commercial upside and technology stewardship.
The UK quantum landscape
The announcement arrives as the UK seeks to maintain and build its position in quantum technology. According to the Tony Blair Institute, the UK is home to 64 of 513 global quantum-focused companies, second only to the United States. That concentration — the so-called Oxford-Cambridge-London triangle — is central to Firgun’s thesis and to the broader argument for targeted venture capital in the space.
Founder motivations and sector outlook
Dr Naudts has framed part of his motivation in personal terms: after stepping back from Culture Trip, he was incorrectly diagnosed with ALS, and he believes quantum-enabled advances could materially affect diagnosis and treatment across health conditions. That mix of personal incentive and sector familiarity often shapes how deep-tech funds allocate capital and support portfolio companies.
Quantum computing remains a long-horizon bet. Firms in the space typically need larger rounds and more time than conventional SaaS startups. Firgun’s arrival, backed by institutional capital, suggests an acknowledgement from some limited partners that those timelines are acceptable in return for potentially transformative returns.
What comes next
Firgun will deploy its first-close capital into startups over the coming months and build toward its £195 million target. Watch for the firm’s initial investments to signal whether it will prioritise hardware, software, algorithms, or application-layer companies — and whether it will lean toward UK‑based teams or a broader Europe-global remit.
The fund’s first close is another marker in the UK’s quantum story: institutional capital is starting to align with academic strength. For founders, that means more pathways to scale; for the ecosystem, it points to an inflection where research excellence increasingly meets patient, sector-aware capital.
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