The Engine-backed $38m series B round took the quantum computing software developer's total funding past $64m since being spun out of Harvard in 2017.
Zapata Computing, a US-based quantum software developer spun out of Harvard University, has received $38m in a series B round backed by The Engine, the venture firm set up by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and also backed by Harvard.
Ahren Innovation Capital, a fund established by University of Cambridge-linked researchers, also took part in the round, which was co-led by mass media group Comcast’s corporate venturing unit, Comcast Ventures, Pitango Ventures and Prelude Ventures.
Alumni Ventures Group participated in the round, which also featured BASF Venture Capital, Honeywell Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund – on behalf of chemicals producer BASF, consumer technology provider Honeywell, industrial equipment maker Robert Bosch and drug producer Merck & Co – as well as diversified trading group Itochu.
Founded in 2017, Zapata is developing software applications that will use quantum computing technology to improve data analytics performance for enterprise customers.
The company’s Orquestra platform will allow users to create and analyse complex quantum-enabled workflows and solve classical computational problems. The series B funding will be used to finance recruitment for Zapata’s science, engineering, research and solutions teams.
The Engine previously backed Zapata’s $21m series A round in April 2019 that was co-led by Comcast Ventures and Prelude Ventures. That round also featured BASF Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, The Engine, Pitango Ventures and Pillar VC.
In April 2018, Zapata received $5.4m in a seed round co-led by The Engine and Pillar VC, with contributions from Prelude Ventures and Founders Fund’s FF Science fund.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
