Generalist · VC Firm

Atomico

Long-term conviction in photonic quantum computing: Atomico led PsiQuantum's Series C in 2020 and holds a board seat, but did not deploy into the BlackRock-led Series D (2021) or Series E (Sep 2025, $1B at $7B). Quantum coverage now sits within the generalist Venture team since Siraj Khaliq moved to an advisor role. Expect deep technical diligence and patient support, not late-stage quantum checks.

Active London, United KingdomFounded 2006

Investment thesis

Founded in 2006 by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström; generalist European VC with $5B AUM, investing from Series A (occasional seed) to pre-IPO across dedicated Venture and Growth teams.

Raised $1.24B in 2024 across Atomico Venture VI ($485M) and Atomico Growth VI ($754M), its largest fundraise to date; 155+ portfolio partnerships, 1 in 6 valued above $1B.

Quantum exposure runs through PsiQuantum: led its Series C in 2020 after a year-long sector deep dive, holds a board seat, and publicly reaffirmed conviction at the $1B Series E ($7B valuation, Sep 2025) led by BlackRock with Temasek and Baillie Gifford, plus the governments of Australia (A$940M, approx. US$617M, Apr 2024) and Illinois.

PsiQuantum's Omega photonic chipset (Feb 2025, manufactured at GlobalFoundries, published in Nature) validates the manufacturability bet Atomico underwrote in 2020.

Anti-thesis

The patterns that trigger a fast no with this fund.

  1. No publicly documented quantum seed activity; the only quantum position (PsiQuantum) entered at Series C, suggesting Atomico waits for manufacturability proof points before underwriting quantum hardware
  2. Did not follow on in PsiQuantum's Series D (2021) or Series E (2025) despite a board seat; founders should not assume deep follow-on reserves for capital-intensive quantum rounds
  3. The frontier tech practice lost its architect: Siraj Khaliq moved to an advisor role around the 2024 fund transition and now advises Kembara VC; no named partner currently owns quantum
  4. Significant partner turnover between funds (five investment partners out, seven in per Sifted, Sep 2024; further departures in 2025), which raises continuity risk for long-cycle deep tech relationships
  5. As a generalist with one quantum position, Atomico benchmarks quantum deals against its AI and climate pipeline rather than against quantum-native milestones

Notable quantum portfolio

Full portfolio
PsiQuantum

Frequent co-investors