Five quantum scientists have each been awarded 12 months of incubation support at SETsquared Bristol, plus financial support totalling £100,000 thanks to EPSRC skills funding awarded to the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training.  

The scientists took part in Compass, an intensive training course delivered by SETsquared Bristol, to assess the viability of their quantum business idea, prior to pitching their company at a competition to a judging panel of Kimberley Brook, Director of SETsquared Bristol, Jake Kennard, Co-founder of KETS Quantum Security and Harry Alexander, Investment Manager at QantX. 

Light Trace Photonics won the top prize with £35,000 and 12-months’ incubation. The startup’s mission is to use integrated photonics to unlock the full potential of photonics in providing efficient, deployable solutions to major issues including the climate crisis, mounting NHS pressures and lagging productivity. 

Jake Biele, CEO at Light Trace Photonics said: “Winning the competition has been an incredible milestone for us. The Compass training course not only honed our communication skills but also provided invaluable insights into refining our pitch. With the prize money, we’re poised to strengthen our IP position and propel our innovative ideas forward. A heartfelt thank you for this opportunity!” 

Sam Snowden, a researcher at University of Sussex who is part of the Quantum Simulation and Computation Hub, received £15,000 and 12-months’ incubation to develop Bosonic which will provide novel ion-photon interfaces to build inherently scalable systems for quantum computers.  

Sam said: “The prize money and incubation support will be a great start for Bosonic. I really found the Compass training course valuable in solidifying my business ideas.” 

Other winners include Joe Smith and Alex Qiu from University of Bristol, and Nathan Johnson from UCL.  

Kimberley Brook, Director at SETsquared Bristol, said: “It has been fantastic working with the University of Bristol’s QECDT to support the translation of quantum research into quantum enterprise and we were really impressed with the ideas that have come through the programme. I’m looking forward to working with the entrepreneurs and seeing the development of these ideas over the next 12 months.” 

Find out more about SETsquared Bristol’s training courses.   

Find out more about SETsquared Bristol’s incubation programmes.   

Left to Right in image: Jake Biele, Joe Smith, Kimberley Brook, Sam Snowden, Nathan Johnson, Alex Qiu