Technology  August 31, 2021

ColdQuanta appoints Scott Faris as CEO

BOULDER — ColdQuanta hired Scott Faris as CEO and formed the company into three divisions for quantum computing, quantum research for clients and its cold-atom technology.

Scott Faris, CEO of quantum computing tech firm ColdQuanta. Courtesy: ColdQuanta

Faris has been chief business officer at Orlando-based Luminar Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: LAZR) since 2016; the sensor and software maker for autonomous vehicles went public in December and has a market cap of about $6.3 billion. He was chief executive or chief operating officer with companies involved with electric vehicles, chipmaking, and precision optical instruments.

Execs

ColdQuanta has been prepping products and services for clients, hiring senior executives and readying a funding round.

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Dan Caruso, a co-founder and former executive of Level 3 Communications and Zayo Group Holdings Inc., has been board chair and interim chief executive since March.

The company in early Spring named C-Suite execs over commercialization and finance. In May, it hired Sarah Schupp, former vice president of business banking at Boulder-based Elevations Credit Union, to oversee the company’s branding and human resources.

Schupp tweeted last week about company hiring. Roughly three-dozen job openings include positions in Boulder and in Madison, Wisconsin, for software engineers, physicists and an IT director.

Units

Caruso in May told a London-based telecom industry journal that ColdQuanta would deliver a quantum computer this year. Some of ColdQuanta’s computing work will include “quantum research as a service” for clients.

Its third unit has been developing technology to freeze atoms to near-absolute zero, at which point they can be used to create highly accurate sensors for various applications.

Quantum computing has been a largely theoretical area of research but is said to herald advances in data storage and computing.

Money

CQ in May raised $20 million in bridge funding from investors including Boulder-based Foundry Group after a $32 million Series A in November and $30 million in seed investments and government R&D grants and contracts through 2019. More recently, it won $2.5 million in federal money this past April.

New York-based investment bank PJ Solomon has been working on a $100 million Series B round.

BOULDER — ColdQuanta hired Scott Faris as CEO and formed the company into three divisions for quantum computing, quantum research for clients and its cold-atom technology.

Scott Faris, CEO of quantum computing tech firm ColdQuanta. Courtesy: ColdQuanta

Faris has been chief business officer at Orlando-based Luminar Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: LAZR) since 2016; the sensor and software maker for autonomous vehicles went public in December and has a market cap of about $6.3 billion. He was chief executive or chief operating officer with companies involved with electric vehicles, chipmaking, and precision optical instruments.

Execs

ColdQuanta has been prepping products…

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