The startup Arq has raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding from Ground State Ventures, with participation from Big Sur Ventures, to accelerate development of multiplexed quantum repeaters for the quantum internet. The capital will be used primarily to build a laboratory focused on the reproducibility and reliability of its quantum memories—a critical step toward commercial networking products.
A quantum repeater built on rare-earth-doped ion memories
Arq is developing a quantum repeater that combines quantum memories embedded in rare-earth-doped crystals with entangled-photon pair sources. The device acts as an interface between telecom optical fiber and remote qubits: it stores incoming photons and enables controlled re-emission to establish and sustain entanglement over long distances. Arq’s claimed differentiation is multiplexing—the ability to store and manage many photons in parallel—an approach analogous to the techniques that make the classical internet fast and cost-effective.
Funding, goals and lab buildout
The $1.4M round is led by Ground State Ventures with support from Big Sur Ventures. The funds will finance the opening of a state-of-the-art lab to validate reproducibility and improve the reliability of Arq’s quantum memories, an essential milestone on the path to commercial quantum networking hardware.
