QV Studio

Their thesis, in full

QV Studio is the world's first venture studio dedicated to quantum technologies, based in Sherbrooke's DistriQ quantum innovation zone. As a venture studio (not a fund that backs your existing company), it co-founds and incorporates new companies in-house from university quantum research, then co-invests at pre-seed alongside its partner VC funds Quantacet and Quantonation. For founders this means it is most relevant if you are a researcher or scientist-entrepreneur ready to spin a company out of quantum science: QV Studio helps build the company itself, providing capital, operating talent and lab infrastructure in exchange for equity. Over a three-year program it works to secure each company at least $1M CAD in pre-seed (dilutive and non-dilutive) and at least $5M CAD in seed by graduation. It is a non-profit funded by Quebec's Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy.

Questions they usually ask

Have an answer ready for each one before the first call.

1. Is your venture rooted in quantum science or a closely adjacent deep-tech discipline, and is the research close to a defensible proof of concept?
2. Are you a founder or research team willing to build and incorporate the company inside a venture studio, accepting equity participation by the studio and its partner funds rather than a pure external investment?
3. Can your technology plausibly reach a $1M pre-seed milestone within three years and a $5M seed at graduation, with a credible path to a real market?

Follow-on

QV Studio supports founders as a hands-on co-builder, not a passive backer. A resident team of tech entrepreneurs, scientists in residence and consultants from the ACET and Quantonation/Quantacet networks works alongside the founding team on company formation, product, finance, IP and go-to-market, while providing access to shared quantum labs and pre-seed capital. The goal across the three-year program is to de-risk the science and reach the financing milestones needed to attract major private and public-private investment.