Insider Brief
- SemiQon has appointed Dr. Antti Vasara, former CEO of Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre, as Chair of its Board to lead international expansion and commercialization efforts.
- Vasara brings decades of experience in tech leadership and EU innovation policy, with past roles at VTT, Nokia, and as President of EARTO.
- The move strengthens SemiQon’s push to scale its silicon-based quantum chips and transform scientific breakthroughs into market-ready solutions.
PRESS RELEASE – The former President and CEO of VTT, one of Europe’s leading RTOs, joins SemiQon to guide the company’s growth and international expansion.
SemiQon, a quantum hardware company developing silicon-based quantum integrated circuits, today announced the appointment of Dr. Antti Vasara as Chair of its Board of Directors. Vasara, a globally recognized leader in driving science-based innovation and commercialization of new technologies, will bring invaluable experience and strategic insights to support the next phase of SemiQon’s commercial ambitions.
Vasara has held senior leadership and board positions in several European industrial and research organizations, most recently as the President and CEO of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland from 2015 to June 2025. Vasara has also advised EU-level technology and innovation policy as a member of several expert groups since 2017 and was the President of EARTO from 2019 to 2024. Before his tenure at VTT, Vasara held senior leadership positions in globally successful technology companies, including Nokia. Vasara holds a D.Sc. (Tech.) in technical physics.
“There are few people who share the depth and breadth of Antti’s experience in driving growth and good policy around innovation and technology in Europe. Combined with his genuine interest in quantum technologies, I could not imagine a better suited person to have by my side as SemiQon scales operations and goes after new milestones and markets,” comments Himadri Majumdar, CEO of SemiQon.
Vasara’s previous experience in translating scientific and technological advancements into thriving businesses aligns with SemiQon’s mission to power the scale-up of quantum computing with powerful, reliable, and cost-effective quantum chips.
“We have witnessed a lot of progress in quantum research over the last years and decades, but the quantum industry is still in its infancy. And while it is still early days for quantum, we are entering a stage where vision must turn into reality, and success hinges on our ability to scale. What SemiQon is doing bringing the strengths of semiconductors into quantum is genuinely inspiring, and the deep expertise of the team is exceptional,” says Vasara.
“SemiQon’s journey so far has been nothing short of impressive. Over the last two and a half years, the team has been able to reach extraordinary technological milestones, secure significant competitive grant funding, build important strategic partnerships, and launch SemiQon’s first commercial solutions. I am proud to welcome Antti as the new chair and continue my journey with SemiQon as a board member,” comments Jussi Sainiemi, a partner at SemiQon’s lead investor Voima Ventures and former chair of the board.
With this expansion of its leadership, SemiQon further strengthens its organizational foundation and bolsters its capacity for fast commercialization and international expansion.
