UK quantum start-ups are relocating overseas due to insufficient domestic growth-stage funding
Right now, the UK is doing a decent job at sparking early-stage quantum innovation. That’s not the issue. The challenge is scaling. Start-ups launch, show promise, and then face a wall: there’s not enough investment-ready capital to support high-growth expansion at speed. These companies aren’t leaving because they want to; they’re leaving because they have to, because markets like the US, Germany, and Singapore are giving them what the UK isn’t: capital at scale.
Look at PsiQuantum. It started in Bristol and is now scaling its core operations in the US. Universal Quantum moved to Hamburg. Oxford Ionics? Recently acquired by US-based IonQ. These aren’t isolated events, they’re a trend. High-potential British quantum ventures are finding more open doors abroad, where funding models are purpose-built to help deep tech scale fast. London isn’t short on talent or ideas. It’s short on scale-up capital. That’s a problem.
C-suite leaders should recognize this isn’t just about where companies go; it’s about what Britain keeps. If you can’t support early growth, you don’t just lose companies. You lose the future value of their technology, their people, and their global influence. Quantum isn’t theoretical anymore, it’s an asset. And when assets leave, the return on national investment disappears with them.
Current UK funding initiatives are insufficient to transition quantum firms from research to commercialization
Early-stage funding, grants, challenge funds, those are fine for getting ideas out of labs. But they aren’t enough when quantum start-ups need to scale. Growth-stage capital is different. It funds the complex engineering, manufacturing development, and talent acquisition needed to transform a working prototype into a market-ready system. And right now, in the UK, that kind of funding is hard to find.
Lisa Matthews, CEO of KETS Quantum Security, put it clearly: while the UK has made real progress in kicking off innovation, the money dries up at the moment companies need to build fast and at scale. This isn’t just a financing bottleneck, it’s a commercially strategic gap. It’s what keeps the UK stuck in research mode while other nations accelerate toward large-scale commercialization.
If you’re in the C-suite of a tech venture, or leading strategic direction for a government-backed innovation program, this gap should be a red flag. Countries betting seriously on quantum, China, the US, Germany, aren’t just funding ideas. They’re funding growth. The UK needs to stop relying on grants alone and start equipping its private and public sectors with the tools to drive real commercial momentum. Otherwise, expect more talent flight, more exits abroad, fewer future IPOs on British soil.
Industry leaders are advocating for a UK quantum sovereign wealth fund as a solution to retain domestic quantum capabilities
Right now, the UK is missing a serious financial lever to keep quantum scale-ups grounded in Britain. Industry leaders aren’t asking for a policy tweak, they’re calling for a bold structural solution: a Quantum Sovereign Wealth Fund. This isn’t a theoretical wish list item. It’s a direct response to a recurring problem, British quantum companies are innovating here and scaling somewhere else.
Lisa Matthews, CEO of KETS Quantum Security, has been direct. She’s calling for the fund to be announced in the Budget. Not next year. Now. The rationale is straightforward. The UK needs a long-term, public investment engine that can take equity positions in homegrown quantum companies, just like global competitors are already doing. Without that, early-stage support goes to waste as breakthrough technologies and critical IP move abroad when serious capital is needed.
For top-level executives and decision-makers, the takeaway here is simple: long-term technology leadership requires long-term capital commitment. The private sector can only go so far without state-backed certainty. A sovereign wealth fund focused on quantum gives startups the confidence to stay, build, and scale in the UK. It also gives the public sector a stronger position in shaping the national quantum ecosystem. Waiting longer just means paying more later, to re-attract talent, reacquire assets, or patch up security risks that could have been avoided with domestic investment.
Global competitors already leverage public venture funding to secure national quantum technology leadership
The UK isn’t operating in a vacuum. It’s competing in real time with countries that have already built public capital frameworks to champion their quantum sectors. China, Germany, France, South Korea, Japan, Denmark, Singapore, the list isn’t short. The US has joined them, announcing plans to take equity stakes in its top quantum firms. These countries are not just funding R&D. They’re investing in commercial scale and strategic control.
That matters because this isn’t just about company valuations, this is about technological primacy and national resilience. Countries putting public money directly into quantum companies are securing a stake in the future. They’re locking in domestic control of patents, platforms, and infrastructure that will define the next era of computing, security, and communication.
For business leaders, ignoring this trend isn’t an option. If public venture vehicles become the standard, the absence of one in the UK means a weaker position in everything from negotiations to partnerships to market access. The playing field is tilting fast. Matching global funding models isn’t optional, it’s strategic. Without a competitive capital structure, British quantum may continue to lead in ideas but lose in execution.
The lack of domestic scale in quantum technology may jeopardize national security by increasing reliance on foreign providers
Quantum tech isn’t just about speed or processing power, it underpins secure communications, cryptography, and systems that will protect critical infrastructure in the future. If the UK can’t support its quantum start-ups to scale and operate domestically, it runs the risk of becoming dependent on foreign vendors for strategic technology assets. That’s a national security concern, not just a commercial inconvenience.
The problem isn’t theoretical. The UK’s current environment doesn’t provide the investment confidence or long-term capital required for these firms to grow at home. As companies move operations abroad or sell off to overseas buyers, the risk shifts from economic loss to strategic vulnerability. Handing another country operational control over quantum infrastructure or cryptographic technologies isn’t a policy error, it’s a security gap.
For C-suite leaders in both government and enterprise, this crosses into high-alert territory. Quantum encryption, secure defense communications, power grids, it’s all on the table. If foundational components are being built outside the UK, then control sits elsewhere. Executives need to plan accordingly. This isn’t a matter of protectionism, it’s about industrial resilience and operational sovereignty. If Britain doesn’t establish stronger domestic scaling mechanisms in quantum, it will not only fall behind economically, it will fall behind strategically.
Key executive takeaways
- UK start-ups leaving due to funding gap: British quantum firms are relocating or being acquired abroad due to a lack of growth-stage capital. Leaders should prioritize scalable funding strategies to retain talent and protect domestic innovation.
- Grants don’t bridge commercialization: Current UK funding models support early research but fail to help companies scale commercially. Executives must push for financial instruments that close this mid-stage gap to unlock long-term commercial returns.
- Sovereign fund needed to secure UK quantum: A dedicated Quantum Sovereign Wealth Fund would give UK companies the long-term capital to grow domestically. Leaders should advocate for such a fund to maintain control over IP, talent, and economic value.
- Global rivals are investing at scale: Countries like China, the US, and Germany are already backing quantum firms with state venture models. The UK must adopt a similar approach to stay competitive in strategic tech sectors.
- National security at risk without domestic quantum control: Quantum tech impacts secure communications and infrastructure resilience. Leaders must treat domestic scale-up capacity as a security issue, not just an economic one, to minimize reliance on foreign suppliers.
