Participated · Seed · Dec 2024

BlueQubit, founded in spring 2022, builds a Quantum Software-as-a-Service (QSaaS) platform that gives end users access to QPUs and quantum computing emulators. The company leverages large-scale classical compute—a fleet of GPUs—to develop and test quantum algorithms before deploying them on real quantum processors. Its software stack runs emulators up to 100 times faster than commonly available alternatives and includes algorithms for quantum machine learning and quantum optimization. BlueQubit targets use cases in financial modeling, pharmaceutical development, and materials‑science visualization, aiming to marry enterprise applications with advanced quantum hardware. Founders Hrant Gharibyan and Hayk Tepanyan met at Stanford; Gharibyan co-authored a wormhole teleportation algorithm later implemented by Google Quantum AI, and Tepanyan previously worked on Google’s infrastructure team. The company recently raised a $10 million Seed round to advance product development and commercialization.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2022

BalkanID builds AI-powered identity governance and administration software that automates visibility into entitlements and access reviews. The company markets its product as “Identity Governance and Administration on autopilot,” aiming to simplify and autonomize core IGA workflows. BalkanID launched out of stealth in May 2022 and is based in Austin. Its leadership team includes co-founders Subbu Rama, Sameer Sait and Jeremy Patton; Rama previously co-founded Bitfusion, which was acquired by VMware. The company says its AI-heavy approach differentiates it from legacy IGA tools and manual spreadsheet-driven processes. In a seed extension announced today it raised $2.36 million, bringing total funding to $8.1 million. BalkanID plans to use the proceeds to accelerate growth, buffer against market fluctuations and capitalize on demand for its Intelligent Access Governance platform. BalkanID has developed an AI-powered Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platform built for cloud-native environments that identifies and remediates risky entitlements across SaaS and public cloud estates. The company says its patent-pending solution leverages data science to interrogate cloud environments for inherent and residual entitlement risks. BalkanID enables IT and security teams to enforce the principle of least privilege while dynamically managing exceptions. The company announced the launch of its IGA solution alongside its seed funding. Founders include Subbu Rama (co-founder of Bitfusion, acquired by VMware), Jeremy Patton (former engineering leader at Bitfusion), and Sameer Sait (former CISO at Amazon/Whole Foods Market). The company raised seed capital to accelerate product and customer development.