Maybell Quantum Raises $25 Million in Series A Funding

Maybell Quantum has closed a $25 million Series A funding round led by Cerberus Capital Management. According to the company, the new capital will be used to scale its manufacturing capabilities and establish a new production facility this year.

Maybell is a maker of cryogenics hardware used in quantum computing applications. Its products include the “Maybell Fridge,” introduced in 2022, a type of advanced cooling device called a dilution refrigerator which is used to achieve extremely low temperatures, often down to millikelvins (thousandths of a kelvin) — far colder than outer space. It operates on the principle of mixing two isotopes of helium (helium-3 and helium-4) in a process that absorbs heat from the surrounding environment, thereby cooling it.

Dilution refrigerators are crucial in quantum computing where maintaining a quantum system or samples at near absolute zero temperatures is essential for studying their properties without thermal noise interference. The dilution refrigerator’s ability to reach and maintain such low temperatures makes it indispensable for experiments that require a stable, ultra-cold environment to observe quantum phenomena accurately.

The Maybell Fridge is designed to be extremely efficient, able to support three times as many quantum bits, or qubits (the basic units of information in quantum computing), as similar devices, but it only takes up a tenth of the space. This allows it to run bigger quantum computing operations in much smaller areas.

In 2023, the company introduced the “Big Fridge”, an advanced evolution of the original “Fridge,” delivering twice the operational capacity and quadrupling the experimental volume. It is engineered for scalability and can provide hyper-scale-ready extensibility to meet the demands of expansive quantum computing projects.

“Our Big Fridge lets you cool more with less,” says Kyle Thompson, Maybell’s co-founder and CTO. “We’ve doubled the cooling power to 1000µW at 100mK (-460 degrees Fahrenheit) and quadrupled experimental volume compared with our original Fridge, while increasing system footprint by only 50%. The Big Fridge is the most capable and efficient dilution refrigerator ever made.”

Maybell Quantum, led by CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick, was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in Denver. The company is named after the city of Maybelle, Colorado, which set a record for the coldest air temperature ever recorded in the state of when on February 1, 1985, the thermometer dropped to -61 degrees Fahrenheit.

“This investment will help accelerate the deployment of Maybell systems worldwide to continue laying the foundation for the quantum century, while providing researchers and entrepreneurs the tools they need to transform the theoretical into the tangible,” said Mr. Tillemann-Dick.

As part of the Cerberus investment, Chris Darby, Cerberus’ global head of venture investments, will join Maybell’s board of directors. Mr. Darby joined Cerberus in 2023 following a 17-year tenure as president and CEO of In-Q-Tel, an independent nonprofit venture capital firm that supports the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader U.S. intelligence community by investing in advanced technologies and startups that could provide innovative solutions to national security challenges.

“The Maybell team is laying the groundwork with powerful, scale-ready quantum infrastructure solutions to support quantum computing advancements. This isn’t simply an investment in technology; it’s an investment in a future secured by quantum capabilities,” said Mr. Darby.

The funding round also saw participation from Maybell’s existing investors, including Lavrock Ventures, Caruso Ventures, Mark IV Capital, Decisive Point, In-Q-Tel, and Olive Capital. “Lavrock is excited to support Maybell in their quest to expand the horizons of quantum technology,” said Steve Smoot, the general partner at Lavrock Ventures. “This investment reflects our dedication to fostering innovative solutions poised to tackle global challenges.”

Lavrock Ventures invests from $2 million to $4 million as part of financings that range from $3 million to $12 million. The firm invests in enterprise software, data, deep tech, a national security sectors and prefers to be a lead investor whenever possible. Lavrock is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

New York City-headquartered Cerberus was founded in 1992 and is an active investor in credit, private equity, and real estate platforms. The firm has more than $60 billion in assets under management.

Latham & Watkins represented Maybell Quantum on this transaction. The Latham & Watkins transaction team was led by Boston partner Spencer Ricks, with associates Naomi Smith, Gen Crescenzo, and Michael Bevilacqua.