By Sophie Lindqvist

Q-Ctrl raised $290 million in a Series C round (a third-stage venture-capital financing) that values the quantum software company at more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. Salesforce Ventures, the venture arm of Salesforce, led the financing on Thursday, the company said.

The company described the round as oversubscribed and said it expanded twice to meet investor demand. Neither the amount contributed by Salesforce Ventures nor the valuation methodology appeared in the disclosed details.

Q-Ctrl's software addresses two problems: GPS-independent navigation and reducing errors in quantum computers. Chief Executive Michael J. Biercuk told Bloomberg: "Think of our software as the equivalent of noise-canceling headphones." The analogy explains the error-reduction pitch, but the announcement provides no comparative benchmark or independent performance test.

New participants joined the round:

• Affinity Partners, which Bloomberg identified as Jared Kushner's firm
• AMD Ventures
• EDGE Group
• MPower Partners
• Australia's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation
• SPARX Asset Management

Returning investors also backed the company:

• In-Q-Tel
• Lockheed Martin Ventures
• DCVC
• Square Peg

Robert Keith, a partner at Salesforce Ventures, said in a statement: "The hard problem in quantum is not building the machine, it is getting useful output from it." He identified Q-Ctrl's control software as the reason his firm led the round. That is an investor's judgment of commercial readiness, not independent validation of the technology.

Ironstone Opal, the company's main product, is a quantum navigation system (positioning that works without satellite signals). It provides a position when GPS (global positioning system) is unavailable or denied.

The company says it is deploying Ironstone Opal on commercial aircraft with Airbus and on autonomous platforms (systems designed to operate without a human operator) with Lockheed Martin. Those statements do not specify aircraft numbers, platform volumes or installation schedules.

Biercuk told Bloomberg that contract customers include DARPA, a U.S. military agency, the navies of Australia and Britain, and Airbus. The list spans defense and commercial buyers, although no contract values or revenue breakdown appear in the announcement.

Bloomberg reports that the navigation technology can fix a location with an error of no more than 10 meters, about 33 feet. That tolerance matters as jamming (signal interference) and spoofing (false signals) have degraded satellite navigation amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The reported accuracy claim lacks a cited comparative test or certification in the material reviewed. Q-Ctrl must show that this performance holds across routes, conditions and denied-signal environments before customers can treat it as a standardized service.

Where the money is going

Q-Ctrl said it will expand its software work and scale globally to meet customer demand across sectors from finance to energy. It also plans to continue autonomy and aerospace programs.

Neither commitment carries a disclosed budget, staffing target or timetable. The funding increases Q-Ctrl's capacity to expand, while leaving execution and product-delivery risk with shareholders and prospective customers.

Per Roman, founding partner of Bullhound Capital and a Q-Ctrl board member, said the company has real customers and real revenue. He offered no figure to test either claim, and the reported valuation gives no basis for judging profitability.

What does the $290 million change for customers?

For aviation, defense and energy buyers, the practical change is greater supplier capacity, not an independently verified service level. Q-Ctrl can fund broader software development and global reach, but it has not disclosed production volumes, deployment deadlines or contract-backed revenue.

The financing strengthens Q-Ctrl's ability to compete for programs where GPS denial and interference matter. It does not remove the burden of proving reliable performance at scale, a condition more consequential than the headline valuation.