Speqtral specs $1.9m seed round

Speqtral, a Singapore-based developer of quantum communication technologies for use in space spun out of national research hub Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT), yesterday obtained $1.9m in an oversubscribed seed round led by venture fund Space Capital.
The round also featured government-owned investment firm SGInnovate as well as syndicate Space Angels, which established the Space Capital fund, and early-stage VC firm Golden Gate Ventures. CQT is based at National University of Singapore.
Founded in 2017 as S15 Space Systems, Speqtral is developing a quantum physics-powered encryption technology called Quantum Key Distribution that secures communication networks operating from satellites.
The seed capital will support a pilot of the technology on a cube-sized quantum communications satellite. Proceeds from the round will also allow the spinout to bolster its headcount and launch offices in Singapore and the US, with a view to building further advances in quantum communications technology.
Speqtral’s management team includes chief technology officer Robert Bedington, who stood down as a senior research fellow at CQT in April 2019, as well as chief quantum scientist Antia Lamas-Linares and consultant director Alex Lohrmann, who work at the centre as a visiting associate research professor and research fellow respectively.
Artur Ekert, the director of CQT and one of the original inventors of quantum cryptography, said: “I admire the Speqtral team’s vision in launching a business for space-based quantum communication. It is a pleasure to see colleagues take this step to build from decades of research towards a global commercial network.”