Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC) has announced plans to establish its first European Union facility in Barcelona, Spain. Dubbed the OQC Global Quantum Development & Manufacturing Centre, the site will serve as the company’s primary global hub for the design, development, and industrialization of its superconducting quantum hardware.
The project represents a €92 million ($98M USD) investment and is projected to create 210 high-skilled jobs over the next five years—more than doubling OQC’s current global headcount of 150 employees. Operations are slated to begin in Q4 2026.
Transaction & Funding Details
The expansion follows OQC’s recent £260 Million ($350 Million USD) Series C funding round, noted as the largest quantum-specific round in Europe to date.
- Public Co-Investment: The Spanish government, via the Coinvestment Fund (FOCO) managed by COFIDES, contributed €46 million directly to the Series C round to anchor the project in Catalonia.
- Institutional Support: The move was heavily coordinated by local and national agencies, including ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the Barcelona Investment Office, and Barcelona & Partners.
Facility Scope & Technology Focus
Unlike OQC’s existing colocation data center footprints in the US and Japan, the Barcelona facility will handle core hardware scaling. The center will feature:
- Dedicated laboratory space and technical assembly areas.
- Frameworks for applied R&D, industrialization, and systems integration.
- A focus on scaling superconducting quantum systems tailored for Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) in sectors like AI, finance, healthcare, and energy.
This move represents a significant geographic shift for the UK-based Oxford University spin-off, securing a critical foothold inside the EU single market to bolster European technological sovereignty. For Spain and the Catalonia region, landing OQC’s manufacturing core firmly establishes Barcelona as a frontrunner in Southern Europe’s deep-tech and quantum ecosystem.
More details about this development have been posted on the Catalonia Trade & Investment website here.
In GQI Portal
The players behind the news
The team that writes QCR tracks every company, deal and technology in the GQI Factory, GQI's verified database of the quantum industry. Next up: every story linked to its players, coming to QCR's paid plans.
- Players Companies and institutions across the quantum industry, by segment.
- Scorecards How the players compare on hardware, software, funding and more.
Newsletter
QCR Alerts in your inbox
The latest reporting and analysis from Quantum Computing Report. Free, unsubscribe any time.