Firgun Ventures backs ZuriQ’s trapped-ion quantum chip plan

Firgun Ventures joined a 20.6 million Swiss franc seed round for ZuriQ, an ETH Zurich spin-out building a trapped-ion quantum architecture based on Penning micro-traps. The deal expands Firgun’s European quantum portfolio and backs a hardware approach aimed at overcoming one of the field’s toughest scaling problems.

Why it matters: - ZuriQ is tackling a core bottleneck in trapped-ion quantum computing: scaling beyond one-dimensional ion chains. - Firgun Ventures is adding a quantum-hardware company to its European portfolio as it pushes into more scalable commercial infrastructure. - The investment signals continued backing for hardware approaches that target long-term qubit growth, not just small proof-of-concept systems.

What happened: - Firgun Ventures said July 28, 2026 that it participated in a 20.6 million Swiss franc seed round in ZuriQ, which the release also values at $25.5 million. - ZuriQ is an ETH Zurich spin-out developing a trapped-ion architecture based on Penning micro-traps. - Lead investor Quantonation joined the round with Forward.one and Extantia. - Firgun described the deal as its sixth quantum investment.

The details: - ZuriQ’s system uses static electric and magnetic fields to move and reconfigure ions beyond the one-dimensional chains used in conventional trapped-ion systems. - The company’s approach is designed to reduce transport, density, heating and control challenges that grow as trapped-ion systems scale. - The Penning micro-trap architecture is intended to confine and move ions using static electric and magnetic fields. - ZuriQ says the design enables reconfigurable ion placement above a chip and a more flexible trapped-ion processor. - The company was founded by Dr. Pavel Hrmo, Dr. Tobias Sägesser, Dr. Shreyans Jain and Prof. Jonathan Home. - ZuriQ’s technical base includes a 2024 Nature paper showing a micro-fabricated Penning ion trap, full quantum control of a single ion and arbitrary ion transport in the trapping plane above the chip. - The latest system has demonstrated a native 3x3 array of qubits.

Between the lines: - Firgun Ventures appears focused on quantum companies that have moved past basic scientific validation and are working toward hardware that can scale. - ZuriQ’s appeal likely comes from its architectural bet: if trapped ions can be moved and arranged more flexibly, the platform may avoid some of the scaling limits that have slowed the modality. - Zeynep Korutürk, co-founding partner of Firgun Ventures, called ZuriQ’s leadership team world-class and said Firgun wants to help define the future of quantum computing.

What’s next: - ZuriQ will use the funding to advance its trapped-ion platform toward larger qubit counts and more scalable processor designs. - Firgun Ventures is likely to keep building a portfolio around quantum computing, communications, cryptography, sensing and imaging. - The company’s next technical milestone will be proving that its Penning micro-trap approach can scale beyond the newly demonstrated 3x3 qubit array.

The bottom line: - Firgun Ventures is betting that ZuriQ’s trapped-ion architecture can turn a promising quantum modality into scalable hardware for real-world use.

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