QAI Ventures CEO and founder Alexandra Beckstein
QAI Ventures has launched the first cohort of its Singapore Quantum Accelerator, a five-month programme backed by Enterprise Singapore that aims to help quantum and advanced computing startups enter the Asia-Pacific market.
The venture firm, which focuses on quantum technologies and advanced computing, selected four startups from 63 applications across 12 countries. Each company will receive a SGD300,000 (~US$234,000) investment package along with coaching, masterclasses, workspace access in Singapore, and introductions to investors, corporate partners and public-sector stakeholders.
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The inaugural cohort comprises Quantum Logic from the Netherlands, Qualia Therapeutics from Armenia, QPICs from the United States, and Regenesis Materials from Indonesia. The companies work across cryogenic quantum hardware, adaptive neurostimulation, photonic-chip manufacturing and sustainable advanced materials.
The accelerator will run from July to October 2026, with four in-person masterclass weeks in Singapore and weekly one-on-one coaching between sessions. It will end with an Investor Day and Demo Day for investors and ecosystem partners.
Singapore as a quantum launchpad
The launch comes as Singapore attempts to convert nearly two decades of quantum research into commercial companies. The country established the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore in 2007, long before quantum computing became a mainstream venture theme.
That early investment has given Singapore scientific credibility, but commercialisation remains a harder test. Quantum startups typically face long development cycles, expensive hardware requirements, specialised talent constraints and uncertain timelines to revenue. For investors, the sector sits somewhere between deep-tech conviction and patient capital.
QAI Ventures is betting that Singapore can serve as a bridge between research, capital and Asia-Pacific customers. The firm established its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore in September 2025 and is now using the accelerator to build a regional pipeline of quantum and advanced computing ventures.
“Singapore made an early and patient bet on quantum and that foundation is now translating into a commercial opportunity that is maturing,” said Alexandra Beckstein, CEO of QAI Ventures. “We bridge the lab and the market. We know the players, we understand what the industry needs and we know how to turn that into real commercial traction for our startups.”
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The claim is directionally credible, but the commercial quantum market remains early. Many quantum computing companies globally are still selling access, tools, components, software layers or research partnerships rather than at-scale production systems. For Singapore, the immediate opportunity may lie less in building a dominant quantum computer company and more in anchoring regional commercial activity around components, applications, talent and enterprise adoption.
A regional race for quantum advantage
Quantum technology has become a strategic priority across Asia Pacific. China remains the region’s largest public investor, with government quantum spending widely estimated at around US$15 billion. Japan has committed roughly US$1.4 billion to its national quantum plan through 2030, while South Korea has pledged about US$2.3 billion for quantum research and development through 2035.
India’s National Quantum Mission is backed by about US$730 million, and Australia has allocated more than US$660 million under its National Quantum Strategy. Singapore, meanwhile, has committed S$37 billion (~US$28.9 billion) under its broader Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 plan, within which deeptech fields such as quantum sit alongside areas including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
The scale of regional public funding reflects both scientific ambition and geopolitical anxiety. Quantum computing could eventually affect drug discovery, materials science, optimisation and cryptography. Quantum communications and sensing have potential defence, financial services and infrastructure applications. Governments want domestic capability before the technology becomes commercially and strategically decisive.
For startups, however, public funding alone does not create customers. The more immediate question is whether Asia Pacific can produce enough enterprise demand, specialised suppliers and patient investors to sustain quantum companies before the market matures.
McKinsey’s Quantum Technology Monitor has estimated that quantum technologies could create up to US$2 trillion in economic value by 2035, although that figure depends heavily on technical progress and adoption. In Southeast Asia, quantum demand is still nascent. Banks, telcos, logistics players and government-linked research institutions are experimenting, but adoption remains mostly exploratory.
Why the cohort matters
The mix of startups in QAI Ventures’s first Singapore cohort suggests the accelerator is not narrowly focused on universal quantum computing. Quantum Logic is working on cryogenic quantum hardware, an area tied to the infrastructure needed to run certain quantum systems. QPICs focuses on photonic-chip manufacturing, a field relevant to quantum communications, computing and broader semiconductor supply chains.
Qualia Therapeutics, which works on adaptive neurostimulation, sits closer to advanced computing and medical technology than pure quantum. Regenesis Materials, from Indonesia, brings a Southeast Asian company into the cohort through sustainable advanced materials.
That Indonesian presence is important. Singapore’s deeptech ecosystem often functions as a regional headquarters and fundraising hub, but the wider Southeast Asian startup market has historically been more associated with fintech, e-commerce, logistics and consumer platforms. Deeptech founders from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia,and the Philippines frequently face limited domestic risk capital, weaker university-to-startup pathways and fewer specialised commercial partners.
If Singapore can provide the infrastructure while neighbouring markets supply founders, use cases and industrial demand, the accelerator could become more than a relocation vehicle for foreign startups. But that will depend on whether programmes like this create durable Asia-Pacific businesses rather than short-term demo-day visibility.
Sophia Ng, Executive Director for Startup Ecosystem at Enterprise Singapore, framed the programme as part of the country’s next phase of deep-tech development.
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“Singapore has built a strong foundation in quantum science and deep-tech innovation. The next phase is to build globally competitive, best-in-class quantum companies,” she said. She added that the accelerator would support international quantum startups entering the region while giving local founders access to networks, capital and commercial support.
Competitive field is widening
QAI Ventures is entering a market where several global and regional players are already building around quantum commercialisation. In Singapore, companies such as Horizon Quantum Computing and SpeQtral have emerged from the country’s research base. Globally, firms including PsiQuantum, IonQ, Rigetti, Quantinuum, and Pasqal have raised significant capital to pursue different quantum hardware and software approaches.
The accelerator also offers access to quantum hardware, cloud computing resources and simulation testbeds through partnerships that include IonQ, QuEra and Fujitsu. That may help startups avoid some infrastructure bottlenecks, although access to hardware does not remove the larger challenge of proving commercial value.
QAI Ventures says its portfolio companies have collectively raised more than US$250 million in follow-on capital from investors and strategic backers including IBM, GitHub, Toshiba and the European Investment Bank. That track record will matter if the Singapore programme is to move beyond ecosystem signalling and help companies raise institutional capital.
For Southeast Asia, the accelerator’s relevance lies in whether it can connect frontier technologies with actual regional demand. Singapore has the policy support, research base and investor networks. The harder task is turning those advantages into companies that can sell into Asia-Pacific markets where quantum readiness varies widely.
The first cohort is therefore less a verdict than an experiment. It tests whether Singapore can play a serious role in the global quantum startup pipeline — not merely as a host for research, but as a market-entry base for companies trying to commercialise one of deep tech’s most difficult sectors.
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