MUNICH – March 24, 2021 – IQM Quantum Computers (IQM) announced today that Helmut Jeggle, chairman of the BioNTech SE Supervisory board, has joined IQM ́s board of directors. He joins the company during an interesting phase. After successfully closing its Series-A funding round and selling its first quantum computer, IQM now intends to lead the European and global ecosystems, from Finland and Germany.
“I am extremely excited that Helmut has accepted our invitation to join IQM’s board of directors. He is an institution in building technology businesses and brings in decades of experience in creating global tech giants. He was closely involved in Hexal’s business, and his success with BioNTech will help us maximize the true potential of IQM to become a global leader for quantum computers.” Said Jan Goetz, CEO of IQM announcing Helmut’s appointment to the board of IQM.
Operating from Finland and Germany, IQM has an advantage because of Europe’s many decades of research and investments into quantum technologies, infrastructure, and other areas. During this pandemic, different governments and research organizations worldwide have recognized the computational challenge and the limitations looming ahead of us. One cannot afford to lose time and resources to be better prepared against future pandemics, and quantum computing promises to plug this challenge.
From his experience with accelerating the development of vaccines to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Helmut knows well what it means to accelerate R&D. This skillset together with his instinct for new business opportunities will become very useful for IQM. In the current pandemic, governments like Germany have announced large stimulus packages including a budget to acquire quantum computers. With its recent capital raise including also the Strüngmann family office, IQM is in a leading position to build a quantum computer in Germany and create value through its novel co-design approach. The co-design technology is also promising for drug discovery, a field that is well known for Jeggle.
”A drug research and development involves hundreds of researchers, Billions of Euros as an investment, several computation machines, and several years of time. Most of the time is spent on coordination and to manage the computational limitations. Even the fastest computer of today will soon reach its limit. And this is where we need quantum computers and alternate technologies which can speed up the drug development process,” said Helmut Jeggle, Chairman of the BioNTech SE Supervisory board.
Helmut is an industry veteran with several years of experience in the healthcare business. He was the Head of Business Planning & Analyses at Hexal AG, which was later acquired by Novartis in 2005 for $8.3 billion in cash. Helmut is now responsible for the life science initiatives of the Strüngmann brothers and a member of numerous supervisory boards. His network of industry leaders and key decision makers will also be of strategic advantage to IQM ́s global expansion plans.
Helmut added, “IQM is already building Finland’s first quantum computer and is also the leading system integrator in Europe. The German project DAQC is a testament on how Germany can work together with startup, academia, research and industry partners, to establish Europe as a quantum leader. With IQM, Europe has now a unique chance to develop a deep-tech case into a global business leader. IQM’s unique co-design approach which maps applications and algorithms to quantum hardware will make these quantum computers future-ready. I am glad to support the company and the leadership team to build this quantum future.”
Helmut joins the IQM board, which is chaired by Dr. Axel Thierauf, and other board members include Dr. Mikko Välimäki, Herbert Mangesius, and Dr. Kuan Yen Tan.
About IQM Quantum Computers: IQM is the European leader in superconducting quantum computers, headquartered in Espoo, Finland. Since its inception in 2018, IQM has grown to 90+ employees and has also established a subsidiary in Munich, Germany, to lead the co-design approach. IQM delivers on-premises quantum computers for research laboratories and supercomputing centers and provides complete access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers quantum advantage through a unique application-specific co-design approach. IQM has raised € 71 Million through private and public funding and was recently awarded € 12.4 Million by the German Ministry of Education and Research to commercialize application-specific quantum processors.
