Rhonexum, a spin-out from the AQUA Lab at EPFL, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to develop cryogenic electronics for quantum computing scalability. The investment round was led by QDNL Participations, with additional support from Venture Kick, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and Fondation pour l’Innovation Technologique (FIT). Founded in November 2025 by Vicente Carbon and Dr. Hung-Chi Han, the Lausanne-based startup focuses on designing integrated circuits that operate at temperatures near absolute zero (< 4K), addressing the “cabling bottleneck” that occurs when routing thousands of coaxial cables from room-temperature controllers to a dilution refrigerator.

The company utilizes proprietary modeling software to simulate cryogenic semiconductor physics and transistor behavior before fabrication. This approach allows Rhonexum to use standard CMOS manufacturing processes to produce electronics that function reliably within cryogenic environments. By moving control and readout electronics inside the refrigerator and closer to the qubits, the technology aims to reduce thermal-load losses and system complexity. This integration is intended to support the transition from laboratory-scale experiments to large-scale, modular quantum architectures.

Rhonexum plans to use the new capital to expand its design team and deliver its first industrial-grade cryogenic product to a select group of early customers by late 2026. While the primary focus is on quantum computing infrastructure, the company’s hardware has potential applications in deep-space exploration and high-sensitivity sensing, where electronics must operate in extreme thermal conditions. The startup’s leadership combines Dr. Han’s background in cryogenic transistor modeling at TSMC with Carbon’s expertise in systems engineering to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial-scale quantum deployment.

For technical details on the cryogenic modeling platform and product roadmap, consult the official Rhonexum announcement here.

March 18, 2026

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