£1.8m EIC grant backs probabilistic quantum processor to tackle supply‑chain optimisation
This article covers Quantum Dice, a quantum startup, receiving a €2m grant from the European Innovation Council Accelerator and beginning a project to commercialise its probabilistic computing platform. The development aims to advance the ORBITTM processor and Lagrange 0 system towards commercial pilots, supporting industry users and startups tackling combinatorial optimisation and probabilistic AI workloads in sectors such as supply chains, finance, telecommunications and energy.
Quantum Dice, a quantum startup, has begun a project to commercialise a probabilistic computing platform that its founders say could offer a more energy-efficient route to running probabilistic AI and solving industrial optimisation problems. The work marks a further step for the company’s ORBITTM processor and its first-generation Lagrange 0 system as they move from lab demonstrations toward practical customers.
Why it matters
Probabilistic computing uses fluctuating bits, known as p-bits, to explore many possible solutions in parallel. That approach is potentially well suited to combinatorial optimisation problems — for example routing and scheduling in supply chains, portfolio optimisation in finance, and resource allocation in telecommunications and energy systems.
Current AI and high-performance computing workloads consume substantial energy and time. Hardware that natively supports probabilistic algorithms could reduce compute overhead for specific problem classes and unlock new probabilistic AI models that are otherwise impractical on conventional chips. Quantum Dice’s progress is notable because it targets both the algorithmic and hardware sides of that stack.
Inside the product
At the centre of Quantum Dice’s work is ORBITTM, a quantum-enabled probabilistic processor that the company says underpins its Lagrange 0 system. ORBITTM uses p-bits rather than deterministic binary bits. Those p-bits fluctuate between logical states with controllable probability, which the firm argues enables efficient execution of probabilistic algorithms.
Quantum Dice describes a patented source of entropy based on high-speed self-correcting quantum photonic components. The company positions that technology as a route to scalable, reliable, and energy-efficient probabilistic computation. Use cases cited include supply chain and logistics optimisation, financial modelling, telecommunications and energy grid problems, and running next-generation probabilistic AI models that require hardware-level randomness and sampling.
The company has also received external recognition: earlier this year it was named a winner of the Quantum for Society Challenge on the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform, an award that highlights projects using quantum technologies for societal benefit.
Who are the investors?
Quantum Dice has been awarded a grant of £1.8m (€2m) from the European Innovation Council Accelerator programme. The project officially kicked off in October and is now under way.
The company was one of 40 deep-tech start-ups across Europe to be selected from around 1,000 applicants, and among just three from the UK. The EIC Accelerator is part of the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation framework and supports start-ups and SMEs with significant grants and equity investments for projects judged to have market-transforming potential. EIC-backed companies also receive coaching, mentoring and facilitated access to investors and corporate partners as part of the programme.
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Founder perspective
Dr Ramy Shelbaya, CEO and Co-founder of Quantum Dice, said:
Receiving support from the EIC Accelerator is a strong validation of our progress and the transformative commercial potential of our probabilistic computing platform.
We are excited to see that the EIC shares our vision concerning the importance of developing the next generation of computing hardware to tackle the ever more complex problems we are facing.
Shelbaya’s remarks underline the dual aim of the funding: to accelerate technical development and to move the platform toward commercial customers and industry pilots.
The bigger picture
The award illustrates continued European appetite for deep-tech hardware that aims to address energy and scale constraints in modern computing. For UK-founded quantum businesses, securing EIC backing remains an important route to non-dilutive funding and access to EU corporate and investor networks.
As probabilistic approaches gain attention from researchers and industry, the practical test will be deploying them against real-world optimisation problems at commercial scale. Quantum Dice’s progress will be one to watch for anyone tracking the intersection of quantum photonics, specialised hardware and next-generation AI models across the UK and Europe.
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