Ground State Ventures (formerly QDNL Participations) is an Amsterdam-based early-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on quantum technology. Founded in 2022 by Ton van't Noordende, the firm began as the investment arm of Quantum Delta NL before rebranding and expanding globally. The team includes physicists with PhDs from top universities including Oxford, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and UC Berkeley, and the firm now operates offices in Amsterdam, London, and San Francisco.
Ground State Ventures invests exclusively in quantum technology across the full quantum stack. This covers computing, networking, sensing, and infrastructure, with a focus on teams working to solve key problems that must be addressed for quantum technologies to grow and become commercially viable. The firm sources deals primarily from university research groups globally, engaging with top-tier research groups at MIT, Harvard, the University of Maryland, Stanford, Berkeley, Oxford, Cambridge, and Chalmers, typically before companies are incorporated.
Ground State Ventures announced its second fund at $88 million in May 2026. The firm's first fund, launched in March 2023, raised $17 million with Quantum Delta NL as its sole LP. In less than 15 months, the portfolio's total value reached $1.3 billion. Ground State Ventures plans to invest in approximately 30 companies over the coming years.
Leadership
Ton van't Noordende is the founder and General Partner of Ground State Ventures.
Investment Strategy
The fund typically invests between $500,000 and $1.5 million at the earliest stages, and is prepared to make follow-on investments, particularly when a company is solving a key challenge in the quantum stack. Ground State Ventures leads the first investment in each company, acts as investor of record, and typically takes a board seat. The firm's sourcing approach centers on direct engagement with university research groups before founders have incorporated, positioning the fund as the first institutional check in every portfolio company.
Notable Investments
Fund I from Dutch university spinouts:
Fund II from international expansion:
The current portfolio totals 15 companies: five US-based and ten European.
Netherlands
