QuTwo hits $380M valuation in angel funding round led by Peter Sarlin

QuTwo, the Finnish AI lab founded by former AMD Silo AI CEO Peter Sarlin, has reached a valuation of €325 million (approximately $380 million) after raising €25 million ($29 million) in angel funding. This development shows continued momentum in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and sovereign technology initiatives, especially for European-built companies.

The company's name references its computing capabilities, although QuTwo has not fully committed to the quantum field. Its primary product, QuTwo OS, functions as an orchestration layer that distributes computing tasks across classical, quantum, or hybrid architectures. The idea behind the system is that many enterprise applications are better suited for "quantum-inspired" computing. This approach uses classical chips to simulate quantum-like behaviour while relying on more stable and dependable hardware.

Enterprise AI is expected to remain QuTwo's core business. QuTwo's company has already secured approximately $23 million in committed revenue through design partnerships with companies such as Zalando, where QuTwo helped develop AI assistant systems.

"AI is the north star that we will continue to aim for. Quantum is just a new type of computer," Sarlin said, emphasising that QuTwo fundamentally sees itself as an AI company.

Momentum around Europe-based AI laboratories has been accelerating in recent months, with several startups rapidly achieving unicorn status. Just last week, former DeepMind researcher David Silver secured $1.1 billion for his new venture, Ineffable Intelligence. Compared to those enormous rounds, QuTwo's valuation and funQuTwo's size appear relatively moderate, though the structure may allow the company to pursue its roadmap with less external pressure.

According to Sarlin, QuTwo's executive chairman, QuTwo intentionally chose this path. He said he followed a similar philosophy with his previous company, Silo AI, which AMD acquired for $665 million in 2024.

"I had a lot of investors "who would have wanted to pour a lot of money into making Silo into Europe's OpenAI, but I didn't pursue it, said Parlin. The major distinction with QuTwo, Sarlin explained, is that the company wants the flexibility to think long term, operating with a five- to 10-year horizon.

"We are on a mission to build the globally leading AI company for the next paradigm, given that Europe did not succeed in building the AI company for this era," Sarlin said.

Sarlin stressed that he is not pessimistic about the European AI ecosystem. In fact, he remains an active supporter of many European AI ventures. Nor is he inherently opposed to large funding rounds. He noted that he is personally an investor in Ami Labs, founded by Yann LeCun, which recently raised $1.03 billion, as well as in British-American venture Recursive Superintelligence, which is reportedly pursuing a similar fundraising strategy.

However, Sarlin said he did not view a billion-dollar funding round as the right approach for QuTwo, nor did he feel traditional venture capital funding was appropriate at this stage.

Until recently, QuTwo had been financed entirely through Sarlin's family office, PSarlin's, which also incubated NestAI, another venture where he serves as executive chairman. Unlike QuTwo, NestAI previously raised approximately $115 million in a round led by Finland's sovereign fund.

Originally, QuTwo had no intention of raising outside capital. However, Sarlin said the company's soft launch in the year generated substantial interest, leading him to selectively accept funding from angel investors while continuing to decline offers from venture capital firms and strategic investors. Europe's broader geopolitical environment influenced part of that decision.

As Europe increasingly seeks local alternatives to major U.S. technology providers, Sarlin believes significant tailwinds are supporting AI companies built in Finland and across Europe. Investor appetite also appears strong for companies capable of driving ambitious research and development projects in sectors where Europe already maintains established strengths, including automotive, life sciences, and gaming.

Sarlin also expects QuTwo's network of angel investors to help create opportunities across Europe. The investor group includes high-profile names such as Yuri Milner, Xavier Niel, Nico Rosberg, Dieter Schwarz, and Niklas Zennström, as well as founders of companies including Miro, Skype, Supercell, Wolt, Hugging Space, and Legora.

The funding will also support QuTwo's expansion efforts. QuTwo's company recently expanded operations into Sweden and has been actively hiring talent. According to Sarlin, around 50 quantum computing and AI scientists have already joined the company.

The team also includes experienced entrepreneurs such as Kaj-Mikael Björk, Sarlin's former co-founder, and Kuan Yen Tan, a co-founder of IQM, the Finnish quantum computing company preparing for a public listing.

QuTwo's relationship with QuTwo's reflects the company's belief that the company's computing era is approaching quickly, even if fully mature quantum systems are not yet ready for widespread deployment.

"The question for repeat "ounders like [us] is how can we have even a larger impact. In the long term, it's important for Europe that we build the AI company for the next paradigm out of Europe. But, in the short term, we can have a significant impact in driving ambitious R&D moon shots in Europe," Sarlin said.