NVision raises $55 million to expand from quantum MRI into quantum computing
Abbott-backed healthcare startup aims to accelerate drug development using quantum technology.
Israeli-founded quantum healthcare company NVision has raised $55 million in a Series B funding round led by Abbott as it expands from quantum sensing into quantum computing technology aimed at drug development.
The funding round includes a $17 million venture loan from the European Investment Bank and participation from existing investors including Playground Global, Entrée Capital, Matterwave and CDP Venture Capital. The latest financing brings NVision’s total funding to $120 million.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ulm, Germany, NVision develops quantum-based technologies for healthcare, with an initial focus on cancer imaging.
The company’s main platform, called POLARIS, uses quantum technology to significantly enhance MRI signals from sugar-based imaging agents. According to NVision, the system allows researchers and doctors to measure metabolism in real time using standard MRI machines, helping determine whether treatments are working within days rather than months.
POLARIS systems are already being installed at major cancer centers including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Cambridge and the Technical University of Munich. The company expects around 20 systems to be deployed across the U.S., Europe and Asia by the end of the year.
At the same time, NVision announced a broader push into quantum computing.
The company said that while developing its MRI signal enhancement technology, it discovered a new type of organic molecule-based qubit, the basic building block of quantum computers. NVision is now integrating these qubits into photonic chips as part of a new platform called Photonic Integrated Quantum Circuits, or PIQC.
The company says the system is designed to work with standard semiconductor manufacturing technologies, potentially offering a more scalable approach to quantum computing.
NVision’s long-term goal is to combine quantum computing and quantum sensing into a single drug development process. Under this approach, quantum computers would help design new drug candidates, while the POLARIS platform would rapidly validate how those therapies behave in real biological environments.
“I see a future where quantum computers generate an explosion of drug hypotheses for diseases that are exceptionally difficult to treat today,” said Sella Brosh, CEO and co-founder of NVision.
“As we expand our ambition into quantum computing, building on our new class of organic molecule-based qubits, that future comes closer,” he added. “POLARIS is built to enable rapid in-vivo validation and close the loop between design and reality.”
Abbott joined the round as the company’s sole strategic diagnostics investor. NVision said the partnership will allow Abbott to explore future applications for quantum sensing and computing in disease detection, monitoring and clinical decision-making.
