Photon Queue
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Investors
Founders
About
Photon Queue is a quantum hardware startup spun out of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that develops room-temperature quantum memory devices used to store and synchronize single photons in quantum computing and networking systems 123. Unlike most quantum-memory approaches, Photon Queue’s devices operate without cryogenics, vacuum systems, or quantum transduction, and are designed to work across photonic, trapped-ion, and neutral-atom quantum platforms 13. The company has deployed its first commercial systems at Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Maryland 23. Photon Queue was founded in 2024 by Nathan Arnold (CEO) and Kelsey Ortiz (CTO) 1.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-21 | Seed | $4M | Playground Global | Cerberus Capital Management, Illinois Ventures, Roadrunner Venture Studios, MFV Partners 123 |
The seed round was oversubscribed 13. Separately, the New Mexico Economic Development Department and Roadrunner Venture Studios contributed an additional $500,000 1.
What Investors Say
Marissa Ramirez de Chanlatte, Playground Global: “Quantum computing is hitting a scale problem that better qubits alone cannot solve” 1.
What Founders Say
Nathan Arnold, CEO of Photon Queue: “Useful quantum computing will require photons to move through networks with extraordinary precision, efficiency and timing” 1.
Sources
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The Quantum Insider, “Photon Queue Raises $4 Million Oversubscribed Seed Round,” July 21, 2026. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thequantuminsider.com/2026/07/21/photon-queue-raises-4-millionoversubscribed-seed-round/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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HPCwire, “Photon Queue Raises Oversubscribed Seed Round to Scale Quantum Memory Systems,” July 21, 2026. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/photon-queue-raises-oversubscribed-seed-round-to-scale-quantum-memory-systems/↩↩↩
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Quantum Computing Report, “Photon Queue Raises $4M Oversubscribed Seed Round to Commercialize Room-Temperature Quantum Memory,” July 21, 2026. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://quantumcomputingreport.com/photon-queue-raises-4m-oversubscribed-seed-round-to-commercialize-room-temperature-quantum-memory/↩↩↩↩↩