Insider Brief
- Graduate Ventures marked its 80th investment in five years by backing Dutch quantum startup FrostByte in a €1.3 million funding round aimed at scaling quantum computer control systems.
- FrostByte is developing cryogenic control chips that move parts of a quantum computer’s control architecture closer to the processor, an approach designed to reduce size, improve power efficiency and simplify scaling.
- Graduate Ventures said the investment reflects its broader focus on quantum, AI and climate technologies, building on earlier backing of QuantWare, which recently announced a €152 million follow-on funding round.
PRESS RELEASE — Exactly five years after its launch, Graduate Ventures is celebrating its 80th investment. The milestone backing goes to FrostByte, a Delft startup whose technology makes it possible to build quantum computers at greater scale. The investment is part of a 1.3 million euro funding round, alongside Innovation Quarter, Paeonia Group, UNIIQ and an angel investor.
Since its founding in 2021, Graduate Ventures has invested in 79 startups from the ecosystem of TU Delft, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Erasmus MC. The portfolio ranges from AI companies such as Eddy Grid and Iconic Works to deeptech players like QuantWare and climate tech names including Hydryx and Back to Battery.
Several portfolio companies have since secured follow-on funding from international investors, expanded into foreign markets and positioned themselves as category leaders in their respective fields. This demonstrates Graduate Ventures’ ability not only to invest early, but to build lasting value into subsequent stages of growth.
Control electronics for quantum computers
The 80th name in this ambitious portfolio is FrostByte, a Delft-based quantum startup developing chips that solve a critical bottleneck in quantum computing. As these systems grow larger, connecting and controlling all their components becomes increasingly difficult.
FrostByte’s solution is to move part of the control architecture closer to the core of the computer, rather than keeping it on the outside. This makes systems easier to scale, smaller, and more power efficient, which makes the technology relevant to virtually every organisation working on quantum computers worldwide. It is enabled by cryogenic chips, which operate at extremely low temperatures.
World-leading expertise in cryo-CMOS
FrostByte is led by founders James Kroll (CEO) and Luc Enthoven (CTO), with scientific support from Fabio Sebastiano and Masoud Babaie. Both advisors are internationally recognised pioneers in the field, bringing decades of research experience that is now being translated into commercial applications.
“FrostByte is exactly the kind of company that shows what the Dutch knowledge economy is capable of producing,” says Auke van den Hout, Managing Partner at Graduate Ventures. “This investment fits within Graduate Ventures’ broader strategy of backing key technologies such as quantum, AI and climate tech, where fundamental research is translated directly into industrial application.”
“The perfect investor for a deeptech company”
“For a deeptech player like us, Graduate is a uniquely well-suited investor,” says James Kroll, CEO and co-founder of FrostByte. “They understand what it takes to commercialise technology rooted in decades of academic research. On top of that, the access to their network of seasoned entrepreneurs is exactly what you need at this stage, particularly for a company operating at the intersection of science and industrial scale-up.”
FrostByte is a spin-off from TU Delft and QuTech, which is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading institutes in quantum technology. Graduate previously also invested in QuantWare, another QuTech spin-off, which has since grown into one of the world’s major suppliers of superconducting quantum chips, with customers in more than 20 countries.
On 5 May, QuantWare announced a successful, oversubscribed follow-on round of 152 million euro, led by a strong international consortium. Graduate, an early backer of QuantWare, again participated in this round.
80 investments in five years
Graduate Ventures was founded in 2021 by alumni of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus MC and TU Delft. The fund invests from a 10 million euro pre-seed fund and a 50 million euro seed fund. With 80 investments in five years, Graduate Ventures ranks among the most active early-stage investors in the Netherlands.
Beyond capital, the fund’s strength lies in its network of more than 200 experienced entrepreneurs and investors who make their expertise and network available to the founders in the portfolio. Driven by this “Giving Back” culture, Graduate has facilitated more than 600 concrete connections between founders and the supporter network.
