ColibriTD, the French quantum software company specializing in multiphysics simulation, today announced the closing of a €4M Seed round led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from SymbiaVC and Medin VC. The round follows Earlybird's initial €1M Pre-Seed investment in the company and will be deployed across R&D on H-DES, the recruitment of quantum researchers and domain expert engineers to support client engagements, the expansion of hardware, academic and industrial partnerships, and international growth to prepare for scale.
Quantum software, the overlooked side of the quantum equation
The quantum industry tends to reward hardware: qubit counts, processor announcements, and error correction milestones attract the lion’s share of capital and attention. But hardware alone does not create industrial value. Software does. It is the algorithm layer that defines what quantum machines can compute, and the platform that connects quantum capability to the problems enterprises need to solve. ColibriTD's hardware agnostic platform is built precisely for this role: enabling quantum hardware to reach industry, without being tied to any single provider. Compatible with most leading providers today (IBM, AWS Braket, IQM, IONQ, Quobly) and expanding as the quantum hardware landscape evolves.
“Hardware may unlock quantum computing, but software determines where its value is created. ColibriTD has built a differentiated software platform with the scientific credibility and industrial traction to become the decision layer for quantum applications. We're proud to continue supporting the team on that journey.” said Dr. Frédéric Du Bois-Reymond, Venture Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital.
Quantum is now, seven co-constructions to prove it
Founded in 2019 by Laurent Guiraud and Hacène Goudjil, ColibriTD's core technology is H-DES (Hybrid Differential Equation Solver), a proprietary variational quantum algorithm designed to solve partial differential equations (PDEs, the mathematical backbone of multiphysics simulation governing everything from fluid dynamics and material deformation to financial risk modeling).
Over the past several years, ColibriTD has completed co-construction projects across six of the most computationally demanding sectors in industry: defense and aerospace (radio frequency design, combustion modeling for propulsion systems), space and climate science, semiconductor design, nuclear energy, automotive engineering, and quantitative finance. In each case, the partner was not a research lab running an academic experiment, but an engineering or scientific team looking for a real solution to a real problem.
Seven completed projects. Six sectors. Each one proof that quantum simulation is not a future promise. It is a present capability.
“When we founded ColibriTD in 2019, our vision was to move quantum computing past academic theory and deliver tangible business value to industry. Today, we have reached an inflection point. With seven successful co-construction projects across six sectors, we’ve proven that quantum-powered simulation is a present capability, not a future promise. This seed round accelerates our momentum as we scale our hardware-agnostic platform to help more enterprises capture the quantum advantage.” said Dr. Laurent Guiraud, Cofounder and CEO of ColibriTD.
PDEs, from a focused bet to an industry priority
When ColibriTD was founded, specializing in PDE solving appeared to some as a narrow bet. It was not. PDEs are the mathematical language of physical reality, governing fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, electromagnetic behavior, and financial risk at a level of precision and complexity that neither classical computing nor artificial intelligence can fully address. AI excels at pattern recognition and statistical approximation. It cannot replace the exact, physics grounded solutions that high-stakes industrial engineering demands. This is precisely where quantum computing opens a new frontier, and where ColibriTD has planted its flag.
That intuition has since been validated at the highest level of the ecosystem. IBM, a global leader in quantum computing, identifies solving PDE as an application where quantum computers could provide significant near-term benefits. ColibriTD’s QUICK-PDE Qiskit Function is available in the Qiskit Function Catalog for IBM Quantum Premium and Flex Plan users.
“Partial differential equations underpin many of the most important simulations in science and industry, yet are still difficult to solve. ColibriTD’s PDE solver in the Qiskit Function Catalog represents an important tool for domain experts to explore how quantum-classical workflows could help address challenges in fluid dynamics, materials deformation, and other areas of research that remain computationally costly,” said Scott Crowder, Vice President, IBM Quantum Adoption and Business Development.
The €4M Seed will be deployed into R&D on H-DES and the recruitment of quantum researchers and engineers to join the team of approximately twenty, the majority of whom hold PhDs. ColibriTD is actively seeking co-construction partners, enterprises in finance, defense, semiconductors, aerospace, automotive, and energy ready to explore quantum simulation before the early-mover window closes.