#579
Quantum Computing’s Next Trick
Published:
Feb 22, 2025
Author:
Sarah Parsons Wolter
Share:
For decades, quantum computing has been a field of high hopes and shifting timelines. This week, a major breakthrough pushed the industry closer to reality. Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1, a quantum chip powered by a new state of matter. Leveraging a topological superconductor, which is neither liquid, gas, nor solid, the chip represents a step toward making large-scale quantum computing more feasible, bringing the industry closer to the million-qubit threshold needed for complex computations.
Topological qubits take a different approach to quantum computation, aiming to overcome hurdles in scaling and error correction. If successful, this technology could transform fields from AI and cryptography to materials science, enabling breakthroughs that classical computers could never achieve.
Yet, the race for quantum dominance is just getting started. Google, IBM, and others are pursuing different approaches, while Nvidia’s Jensen Huang recently tempered expectations, arguing that useful quantum computing may still be decades away. Nevertheless, Majorana 1 represents a meaningful step toward making quantum computing commercially viable.
Quantum computing has always seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it’s being built on a material that doesn’t fit into any known category. Is it liquid, is it gas, or is it something magical?
Portfolio News
Glassbox raises $1.2m to reimagine the spreadsheet for AI-enabled corporate transactions - Congratulations to portfolio company Glassbox, built to reimagine how finance teams work with spreadsheets in the age of AI, on the announcement of their $1.2m pre-seed round of funding. The round was led by FinTech Collective and StandUp Ventures, with participation from Watertower Ventures. The fresh capital will be used to expand Glassbox’s team and bring its AI-compatible financial analysis platform to market. Read more
Forbes Fintech 50: 2025 - Congratulations to portfolio company Plaid for being named to Forbes' 10th annual Fintech 50 list, which highlights businesses that continue to grow rapidly and adapt, even as industry valuations and investment in private fintechs remain depressed. The company's revenue grew 25% in 2024 and exceeded $300m, and gross profit margin was roughly 80%, according to a person familiar with its business. Read more
Quantum Computing’s Next Trick
Patience pays off in quantum computing - This week, Microsoft's persistence paid off as it unveiled Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum chip powered by a topological core architecture. Read more
Microsoft claims quantum computing breakthrough by creating new state of matter - The chip, called “Majorana 1,” so far is the product of a research effort and isn’t for sale. The Microsoft researchers outlined their breakthrough in a paper published in Nature, a leading scientific journal. Read more
What does Microsoft’s quantum ‘breakthrough’ mean for the sector? - Microsoft has been working on quantum computing technologies for nearly two decades, which culminated on Wednesday when it announced ‘Majorana 1’, a new quantum chip it says shows a path to developing a large-scale quantum computer in years rather than decades. Read more
Industry News
Chase will start blocking Zelle payments over social media - In an update to its policy on Zelle, Chase says it may “decline or block” payments related to purchases from social media marketplaces or messaging apps. The new policy, which goes into effect on March 23rd, 2025, says it’s supposed to help prevent scams. Read more
Some crypto traders caught in FTX collapse are about to get paid back - Initial payouts starting this week will go to smaller customers with claims of less than $50,000. Ultimately, the bankruptcy estate plans to repay billions of dollars. Read more
Abu Dhabi wealth fund reveals $460m Bitcoin purchase - Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, revealed itself to be the seventh largest holder of shares in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, according to a new 13-F filing. According to Abra founder and CEO Bill Barhydt, that could potentially trigger others to potentially increase allocations this quarter. Read more
Europe’s 25 most active angel investors - After a difficult few years, Europe’s tech scene bounced back in 2024, including participation from angel investors ranging from the head of France’s Station F startup hub to a World Cup winner. Read more
Sports debt expected to be newest collateral for securitizations, academy says - Private equity firms are buying stakes in sports teams more frequently, at the same time that more stadiums are being built or renovated. That dual dynamic should fuel sales of debt backed by sports facilities, which include ticket sales, and other sports-linked debt, according to Stav Gaon, a strategist at Academy. Read more
SEC replaces crypto unit with team to probe ‘cyber-related misconduct’ - According to an SEC news release, the CETU will have a few priorities, including fraud committed with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), or through the use of social media, the dark web, or “false websites.” Read more
Venture capital’s latest strategy: private equity–style roll-ups - Venture capital firms have increasingly been acting like private equity firms by investing in or buying mature businesses in need of a turnaround. Now those firms are utilizing another PE strategy—rolling up multiple competitors into a single company that can operate more efficiently by combining costs. Read more
Societe Generale-FORGE launches EUR-backed stablecoin on Stellar - The move comes as SocGen pursues a multichain strategy. The stablecoin is backed by Euros and issued on the Ethereum public blockchain. It’s also one of the first Euro stablecoins to fully comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. Read more
Synapse executive alerted accountants before $100m missing funds scandal - A grand jury is investigating criminal misconduct at a Silicon Valley fintech firm where customer funds went missing, and has questioned an executive who raised alarms before the company collapsed. Read more
MercadoLibre shares surge to record high on strong earnings - Shares of MercadoLibre rallied after the Latin American e-commerce and fintech giant’s profit far surpassed estimates. Net income in the fourth quarter was a record $639m compared with a $406m median estimate from analysts. Read more
Coinbase says SEC intends to drop lawsuit against crypto exchange - Regulators have agreed to drop a lawsuit against Coinbase that sought to regulate the company as a stock exchange, marking the end of years of hard-line enforcement against the crypto market. Read more
Select Financings
Blockaid - Israel based crypto security firm raised $50m in Series B funding led by Ribbit Capital. Read more
Capi Money - London-based startup providing an international payments platform for cross-border trade in emerging markets raised €17.2m in Series A funding led by Creandum. Read more
CredCore - New York based startup that develops AI tools to analyze and manage private debt transactions raised $16m in Series A funding led by Avataar Ventures. Read more
DiligentIQ - New York based AI-powered private equity due diligence platform raised $12m in Series A funding led by Fintop Capital. Read more
Fluent Labs - California based Layer-2 blockchain developer raised $8m in Seed funding led by Polychain Capital. Read more
Handly - Berlin based SaaS platform for home service professionals raised €3.75m in Seed funding led by 20VC and Stride VC. Read more
Hashkey Group - Hong Kong licensed crypto exchange raised $30m in new funding led by Gaorong Ventures. Read more
Imperia - Spain based SaaS platform for supply chain management raised €10m in Series A funding led by Burda Principal Investments and Samaipata. Read more
Mansa - Dubai based cross-border payment services startup raised $3m in Seed funding led by Tether and Polymorphic Capital. Read more
Mavvrik - Austin based startup helping companies manage spending on cloud and IT infrastructure raised $6.2m in Seed funding led by S3 Ventures and Flyover Capital. Read more
OneID - UK based bank-verified digital identity startup raised £16m in new funding led by ACF Investors. Read more
Relive - Portugal based provider of tools for real estate agents raised $5.5m in Series A funding led by Indico Capital Partners. Read more
Stacks - Amsterdam based AI accounting business raised $10m in Seed funding led by EQT Ventures and General Catalyst. Read more
Udaan - India based B2B e-commerce company raised $75m in Series G funding led by M&G Prudential. Read more
Unit Network - New York based tokenization company raised $18m in new funding led by Blockchain Founders Fund and Outlier Ventures. Read more
Universal - Decentralized wrapped crypto asset startup raised $9m in new funding led by a16z. Read more
FinTech Collective Newsletter
Curated News with Context
Delivered every Monday, the weekly newsletter, produced by our team, provides a tightly edited rundown of global fintech news, along with a bit of our original analysis.