Eniac backs Bleximo bringing quantum to real-world applications

We’re excited to lead their $1.5M round to build quantum accelerators

By Vic Singh, Founding General Partner and Javaughn Lawrence, Associate, Eniac Ventures

Quantum computing promises to usher in the next big wave of innovation across various sectors that require powerful computing beyond what’s available in today’s classical computing paradigm, including pharma, energy, security and more.

By harnessing the quantum mechanical properties of subatomic particles, quantum computers can help solve some of the most data-intensive problems in machine learning and cryptography that can have a massive impact on the industry and the geopolitical landscape. The current consensus is that we are at least a decade away from many applications of quantum; however, there some near-term applications of quantum that can drive business value with a verticalized approach.

We’re excited to lead the seed round in Bleximo along with our friends at BoostVC and Creative Ventures. Bleximo is building quantum accelerators, starting with quantum-based application specific integrated circuits (qASICs), first focused on molecule simulation for drug discovery. We believe that Bleximo’s vertical approach will enable it to realize these near-term applications sooner than general purpose quantum hardware providers.

There are only a handful of recognized quantum scientists and even fewer that have the chops to build and commercialize quantum computing technology. Alexei Marchenkov stood out to us immediately as someone who could execute on this premise. As an early employee at Rigetti, he helped to lead the build-out of their cloud-deployed quantum computer. Prior to that, Alexei focused his research on quantum behavior in materials and nanoscale structures. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Leiden University in the Netherlands, was a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley and taught Physics at Georgia Tech.

His co-founder Richard Maydra was the Chief Mechanical Engineer at Rigetti and led the contract engineering team that worked on IBM-Q, IBM’s superconducting quantum computer. They are currently fellows at Cyclotron Road, an entrepreneurial fellowship that offers them access to the world-class research facilities and equipment at UC Berkeley as well as business and technical mentorship.

We are super excited to partner with Alexei and Richard to build the next wave of computing.