Insider Brief
- Sony Ventures is exploring investments in quantum technologies to accelerate breakthroughs in computation and sensing for scalable applications.
- The firm is targeting renewable energy innovations that promise sustainable, high-impact solutions for global energy challenges.
- By prioritizing scalable, transformative technologies, Sony Ventures aims to strengthen its position at the forefront of deep tech investment.
- Image: Sony
Sony Ventures is leveraging its semiconductor expertise to invest in scalable, deep tech sectors like quantum computing and renewable energy, aiming to bridge technological gaps and drive advancements in critical infrastructure areas worldwide.
The venture capital arm of Sony Group Corporation, Sony Ventures, is taking a targeted approach to emerging technology investments, focusing on sectors with the potential to significantly impact markets and industries. At the forefront of its portfolio is Quantum Motion, a U.K.-based quantum computing company that, in Sony Ventures’ view, exemplifies the scalability and technical promise essential to long-term success in deep tech. While quantum technology is widely seen as high-risk and complex, Sony Ventures sees it as a strategic investment aligned with Sony’s semiconductor background and expertise. Sony Ventures’ leaders also see renewable energy as an essential area where deep tech solutions are critical, demonstrated by their recent investment in Flower, a Swedish startup addressing grid instability from renewable sources.
Sony Ventures’ Managing Director for EMEA, Antonio Avitabile, noted that investments like Quantum Motion go beyond financial support to include synergistic benefits, particularly given Sony’s expertise in semiconductors.
“The reason why we made a bet on one specific company in quantum – Quantum Motion – is because it’s the only company that today is actually building qubits on a semiconductor substrate, leveraging basically all the current semiconductor equipment and manufacturing processes that are available out there, which we believe is the most scalable approach,” said Avitabile.
By investing in companies that align with Sony’s semiconductor focus, Avitabile believes the company can support efforts to create scalable quantum solutions that integrate with established hardware manufacturing processes.
Giuseppe Scopece, Deputy Investment Director at Sony Ventures, underscored the significance of deep tech talent when discussing Quantum Motion.
“We pay a lot of attention to people – just as Warren Buffett said in that very famous sentence – ‘We invest in people, not in a company,’” Scopece said. “So, for us, team is relevant and we double check their background.”
Another aspect of the team-centered approach is to find teams at quantum research hubs.
For example, Quantum Motion, which was founded by Professor John Morton and Professor Simon Benjamin has close connections to Oxford University, a global leader in quantum research.
The Importance of Milestones
Avitabile also highlighted the venture’s focus on technical milestones as a way to manage risk in deep tech.
“In the case of Quantum Motion, there are a bunch of technical milestones that need to be met,” said Scopece. “And those technical milestones are super important to validate scalability, to validate certain assumptions that we have made when we made these investments from the technology viewpoint.”
He added that commercial milestones are equally important,
“We also encourage reaching small commercial milestones, the low-hanging fruit, in order to validate and to bring some cash into the company, even if the revenues are small,” said Avitabile, emphasizing that scalability and cost-efficiency are primary objectives in Sony Ventures’ deep tech investments. For instance, in quantum computing, one goal is to reduce the dependence on cryogenic cooling systems, which can make quantum computers impractical for wide-scale use.
“Ideally, you want to be able to have a quantum solution that is based, that can operate at ambient temperature level,” he explained. “So getting rid of the cryogenic chamber and all the kind of refrigeration around it, I think it’s super important, especially if you want to actually bring a quantum computer for every desk.”
Beyond Quantum
In addition to quantum computing, Sony Ventures has turned its attention to renewable energy technology through its recent investment in Flower, a Swedish company working on grid stability solutions. Flower’s technology aims to manage fluctuations from renewable sources like wind and solar to maintain steady energy supplies for the grid.
Avitabile said, “Today, you have a lot of renewable energy, but this renewable energy is highly volatile because it’s regulated by a stochastic process that is coming from the weather. So it’s very difficult to understand when the sun is shining or when the wind is blowing. So if that volatility is injected directly into the grid, it creates instability.”
Flower’s approach to addressing grid instability aligns with Sony Ventures’ goals to investing in scalable solutions and ones with impact, particularly as renewable energy becomes an increasingly vital component of global energy infrastructure.
“What Flower does, they actually manage PV, wind, and also battery parks together with the demand, they can actually provide ancillary services to the grid operator,” Avitabile added.
More Than Funding
Beyond direct funding, Sony Ventures offers portfolio companies additional value through its global network and expertise. This support includes everything from fostering connections with industry experts to establishing a presence in the U.S. market.
“What we like to do, in general, when we invest in companies, is not to bring only cash, but to bring also some sort of value-up activities that can be around technology synergies or technological developments, but also help the company to hire key people,” Avitabile said.
He said that many European startups have strong technical foundations but often lack the business experience required to connect science with commercial markets.
As Sony Ventures continues to broaden its deep tech portfolio, Avitabile pointed to the global expansion of Sony’s venture arm, highlighting markets like the United States, India, and Asia as critical growth regions. This strategy reflects Sony Ventures’ interest in scaling deep tech innovations globally, a vision that extends beyond financial gains to include meaningful contributions to critical fields such as energy and quantum computing.
Ultimately, Sony Ventures aims to support technologies that can transform industries by advancing scalability and operational efficiency across sectors.
The Sony Ventures team offers some sense of the future of deep tech, which it actively monitors for opportunities worldwide. Their approach to this sometimes volatile, often unpredictable industry leans on an approach that is one of cautious optimism, balancing immediate commercial goals with a long-term commitment to innovation.
