1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your company.
Multiverse Computing. Largest European Quantum Software Company. Backed by the European Investment Council and large VC. Third largest in the world after two American not-so-much-larger competitors. Delivering solutions to financial problems in optimization, machine-learning and pricing that are not correctly answered (or even not answered) with classical computers. Problems that range from $200-300 to $3B in impact in net income. Working for large customers (Top 10 Banks in the world), appeared in the Boston Consulting Group reports, The Economist, Forbes… Single European Company in McKinsey’s Quantum global Technology Council. 24 new patents/year, 34 people now, we are nearly 3 yr old!
Me: Mathematician, 20+ yr in finance (also Computer Engineer, PhD in biostatistics, MBA from IESE Business School -and also MD, yep). I can just speak when my Physics cofounders let me do 😉
2.Give us the backstory- how did you get the founding idea, and how did the first sale come about?
The group meet first time in a not-for-profit association (Quantum World Association) who set up a workgroup called “Quantum for Quants”, intended for finance where I was the President. 12 people in this workgroup, just four working for real. These four people are the founders of Multiverse
3.Could you summarize your journey to scale from a sales, go-to-market and business development perspective, perhaps split into 2-3 key phases?
Beware, this is Deep-tech, not just Fintech
i. Initial paper on what you can do and don’t in quantum for finance
ii. Initial customer (BBVA)
iii. Initial round 10M
iv. 2nd year revenues, €3M
v. And now cycling everything again, and again
4.Which was the most challenging phase, and what would you have done differently?
a. Funding
b. So far, trajectory is not so bad. Maybe, a faster acceleration
5.When did you decide to expand to the international/ US market, and how?
From the very beginning. Canadian subsidiary with equal size in HR was created nearly at the same time that the European one.
6.When did you first decide to raise venture capital, and what has been your approach to financing growth over the years?
From the very beginning. Speed is key; so funding is key
7.How is building an Enterprise FinTech firm different from a “regular” SaaS / Enterprise Tech company, and what three things should founders get right?
This is deep tech. You must first demonstrate that the solutions work with this edge technology. Paid project come next. And SaaS product later.
8.What’s on the priority list for you and your team for the next year?
a. Massive round
b. Scaling to €6M revs
c. Team to 60 people
9.Where is the financial services sector headed in the next 12-18 months, and what should we be watching out for?
From our point of view, Quantum is here to stay. The BCG also states that. We are even working with Central Banks. Core methods of pricing, allocation of capital, segmentation, etc are going to change for faster, more precise and even greener ones.
10.Your favorite place(s) for a meal, coffee or drink (pre-/ post-COVID19)?
Akelarre, 3 Michelin stars, San Sebastian. Because finance people have always been so posh 😉