Groove Quantum Gets €10M from EIC To Advance Germanium
Delft-based deep-tech startup Groove Quantum got €10 million (roughly $11.8 million USD) from the prestigious European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program, expanding Europe’s quantum computing market. This €2.5 million grant and hefty equity investment will help the company create germanium spin qubit devices for next-generation quantum processors.
A competitive field with strict selection
Groove Quantum was one of 40 deep-tech firms chosen from over 1,000 EIC Accelerator applications. Reviewers called Groove Quantum’s germanium-based method ‘a standout in a competitive field’. Each earned funding and equity. The potential of germanium in scalable quantum systems is becoming more apparent.
Why germanium qubits?
Groove uses semiconductor transistor techniques to implement spin-qubits in germanium quantum wells. CMOS manufacture makes these qubits scalable, high-fidelity, and compact, allowing them to be integrated into regular semiconductor foundries.
Germanium has great promise, according to leading research. In 2022, scientists showed high-mobility planar germanium with firm superconducting gaps, needed for coherent quantum circuits. A 10-qubit germanium array achieved high-fidelity local control in late 2024, advancing processor reliability.
Groove’s scaling strategy
Anne-Marije Zwerver and Nico Hendrickx founded Groove in 2024 to use EIC funds to expand qubits while retaining coherence and error rates. Their plan emphasises multi-qubit arrays for secure communications, drug discovery, quantum simulation, and other computation-intensive industries.
With spin-based quantum states, hardware architecture resembles silicon transistors. By using fast electric-dipole spin resonance (EDSR) for gate operations, germanium hole-qubit arrays can precisely control gate-driven electric fields.
Behind EIC Accelerator
The European Commission’s EIC Accelerator initiative helps deep-tech and frontier scientific entrepreneurs and SMEs. EIC Fund equity investment up to €15M and non-dilutive grants up to €2.5M are provided. Selected companies receive investor, development, and mentorship networks.
Out of 150 applications that advance to interviews, the top 40 win €230 million. About 87% obtained blended funding, including Groove Quantum, while the rest received grants or equity.
Quantum approach in Europe
The European Commission’s Quantum Strategy, which aims to lead quantum technology by 2030, parallels Groove’s. The concept includes chip line funding, quantum piloting facilities, and the Quantum Skills Academy to bridge research and commercial deployment.
A new quantum design facility and training academy with pilot lines is expected to open in 2026 to help hardware companies like Groove produce and expand quantum chips across Europe.
Building on solid science
Germanium qubit technology is driving Groove Quantum. Major turning points are:
The hard superconducting gap in germanium devices proved that coherent quantum devices need a clean interface.
Electric control of a 10-qubit germanium array: high-fidelity gate operations using hole spins in a 2D qubit lattice.
This study shows that germanium is ideal for scalable quantum systems, allowing Groove to progress from prototypes to multi-qubit processors.
Competition and wider landscape
Quantinuum, IQM, Pasqal, QuEra, and D-Wave are well-funded European quantum startups. Many initiatives use silicon-based photonic, trapping-ion, superconducting, or spin-qubits.
Germany’s infrastructure compatibility makes it stand out; CMOS foundries may allow access to billions of transistors and a manufacturing-savvy industrial base. However, unique qubit platforms require new fabrication capabilities, which may provide Germany-based systems a scaling advantage.
Challenges ahead
However, germanium spin-qubits face severe challenges:
Gate faithfulness and coherence: Real-world cryogenic operations struggle to maintain long decoherence times.
Integrating qubit control mechanisms, wiring, and readout channels at scale is difficult.
Fault-tolerant schemes like surface or concatenated codes require error correction for thousands to millions of qubits.
Competing with neutral-atom qubits (Quantinuum, Pasqal), ion-traps, and mature superconducting qubits requires rapid R&D.
However, germanium’s tight integration, reduced device footprints, and well-known fabrication technique make it a competitive rival.
The funding unlocks
The €10 million Groove Quantum grant supports:
Expansion fabrication efforts include increased die runs at connected fabs, including European pilot lines.
Qubit array scaling: Tens to hundreds.
Adding gate-voltage control circuits or microwaves to control electronics.
Cohesion with EU infrastructure: expanding talent hubs and roadmap facilities with EIC and Quantum Strategy pipelines.
The substantial non-dilutive backing allows for collaborations, financing, IP development, and strategic decisions.
Considering future
There is no commercial quantum computer yet, but multiple qubit technologies will compete for scalable, fault-tolerant systems by 2025. Groove’s germanium-centric strategy fits the European quantum hardware revolution. Its trajectory may lead to high-density, CMOS-based quantum processors that are closely integrated with classical computing, something no other qubit modality can perform at scale.
Last thoughts
Groove Quantum won because:
Germanium spin-qubit practicality, proven by research.
EIC and quantum plan support contribute to European commitment.
The creation of a hardware ecosystem for multi-qubit devices.
Groove leads the integration of semiconductor history with quantum innovation as quantum computing moves from academia to industry. The industry will wait two years to see if the funding leads to scaled qubit arrays, prototype quantum circuits, and germanium-centric quantum advantage claims.
