\n<\/p>\n
QuTwo<\/a>, the Finnish AI lab founded by former AMD Silo AI CEO Peter Sarlin, is now valued at \u20ac325 million (approximately $380 million) after raising a \u20ac25 million angel round ($29 million). It\u2019s a sign of enduring tailwinds for AI, quantum computing, and sovereign tech, especially for Europe-made companies.<\/p>\n QuTwo\u2019s name is a nod to quantum computing, but it hasn\u2019t gone all-in on quantum. Its core product, QuTwo OS, is an orchestration layer that directs tasks to classical, quantum or hybrid architectures \u2014 with the idea that enterprise use cases are often best served by \u201cquantum-inspired\u201d computing, which uses classical chips to simulate quantum behavior on more reliable hardware.<\/p>\n Enterprise AI will be QuTwo\u2019s bread and butter. The company already secured some $23 million in committed revenue thanks to design partnerships with the likes of retail giant Zalando, for which it helped develop AI assistants. \u201cAI is the North Star that we will continue to aim for. Quantum is just a new type of compute,\u201d said Sarlin, who is adamant that QuTwo is an AI company<\/a>.<\/p>\n Momentum has been building around Europe-based AI labs, and several of them have become overnight unicorns. Just last week, former DeepMind researcher David Silver secured $1.1 billion for his new endeavor, Ineffable Intelligence<\/a>. QuTwo\u2019s valuation and round size are somewhat modest in comparison but will let it pursue its roadmap under less pressure.<\/p>\n According to Sarlin, who serves as QuTwo\u2019s executive chairman, this was a decision he also made for his previous company, Silo AI, which AMD acquired for $665 million<\/a> in 2024. \u201cI had a lot of investors who would have wanted to pour a lot of money into making Silo into Europe\u2019s OpenAI, but I didn\u2019t believe in that play,\u201d he told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n The main difference is that QuTwo wants the freedom to think long term, with a five- to ten-year horizon. \u201cWe are on a mission to build the globally leading AI company for the next paradigm, given that Europe did not succeed in building the AI company for this era,\u201d Sarlin said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that Sarlin is bearish on European AI, of which he is a prolific backer. Nor is he necessarily critical of extra-large rounds \u2014 he volunteered that he is also an investor in Yann LeCun\u2019s Ami Labs<\/a>, which raised $1.03 billion<\/a>, and in British-American venture Recursive Superintelligence, which is rumored to be following the same path<\/a>. But he didn\u2019t see a billion-dollar round as the right fit for QuTwo \u2014 nor VC money, at least for now.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span> Until recently, QuTwo was solely funded through Sarlin\u2019s family office, PostScriptum<\/a>, which also incubated NestAI<\/a>, the other company where he serves as executive chairman. But whereas NestAI raised some $115 million<\/a> in a funding round led by Finland\u2019s sovereign fund and Nokia, QuTwo wasn\u2019t seeking to raise external funding.<\/p>\n However, when the lab\u2019s soft launch generated significant interest earlier this year, Sarlin decided he would say no to checks from VCs and strategic investors, but yes to an angel round in part due to the geopolitical moment Europe is currently navigating.\u00a0<\/p>\n With Europe increasingly looking to favor local alternatives to U.S. tech providers<\/a>, there are tailwinds for AI made in Finland. But there is also investor appetite for a company that promises to facilitate more ambitious R&D initiatives in the fields where the region already has strong players, such as the automotive, life sciences and gaming sectors.<\/p>\n Conversely, Sarlin expects that QuTwo\u2019s angel investors could open doors across Europe. There are definitely quite a few introductions he could request from this group, which includes Yuri Milner, Xavier Niel, Nico Rosberg, Dieter Schwarz and Niklas Zennstr\u00f6m, and as well as many startup founders from Hugging Space, Legora, Miro, Skype, Supercell, Wolt, and more.<\/p>\n This will also support QuTwo\u2019s growth. It recently expanded into Sweden, and has been hiring. According to Sarlin, some 50 quantum and AI scientists have joined the team, which includes two other second-time entrepreneurs: his former cofounder at Silo, Kaj-Mikael Bj\u00f6rk; and Kuan Yen Tan, a cofounder at IQM, the Finnish quantum company that is set to go public<\/a>.<\/p>\n QuTwo\u2019s connection with IQM is also a reminder that the company believes we are about to enter the quantum era \u2014 it just can\u2019t wait. \u201cThe question for repeat founders like [us] is how can we have even a larger impact. In the long term, it\u2019s important for Europe that we build the AI company for the next paradigm out of Europe. But, in the short term, we can have a significant impact in driving ambitious R&D moon shots in Europe,\u201d Sarlin said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t|<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n