QT Sense Secures €4 Million to Transform Drug Discovery with Quantum Cell Monitoring
Enschede, Thursday 5 February 2026
The Dutch deeptech firm has raised €4 million to deploy nanodiamond quantum sensors that track stress in living cells. This technology promises to replace reliance on dead tissue samples, offering a fundamental shift in pharmaceutical research accuracy.
Funding the Quantum Leap
The investment structure reflects a strategic blend of venture capital and innovation grants designed to accelerate deeptech scaling. Of the €4 million total, a substantial €3 million seed round was led by Cottonwood Technology Fund, a prominent investor in the Benelux deeptech sphere, with follow-on backing from QDNL Participations and an angel investor [1]. This equity financing is complemented by non-dilutive funding, specifically a €0.6 million grant from ONCO-Q and €0.4 million from the Quantum Forward Challenge [1]. These figures bring QT Sense’s total funding to date to €10 million, building upon the €6 million secured throughout 2025 [1]. The influx of capital is earmarked for engineering upgrades to the company’s flagship platform, Quantum Nuova, preparing it for wider adoption in pharmaceutical labs [1][2].
From Static to Dynamic Diagnostics
The core innovation driving this investment is the shift from analysing dead tissue to monitoring living systems. Historically, drug discovery has relied heavily on measurements taken from dead cells, a method that QT Sense argues severely limits insight into genuine biological behaviour [1]. The Quantum Nuova platform utilises fluorescent nanodiamond quantum sensors to bridge this gap, enabling the detection of oxidative stress, metabolic activity, and free radical behaviour within individual living cells [1][2]. Dr Deepak Veeregowda, CEO of QT Sense, describes this capability as a “scientific shift” rather than a mere incremental step, revealing fundamental biochemical processes that were previously invisible [1]. By facilitating continuous monitoring without damaging biological samples, the technology aims to provide the real-time, biologically relevant data that is currently scarce in the sector [1].
Scaling for Societal Impact
Founded in February 2024 as a spin-off from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), QT Sense is now moving aggressively from academic validation to industrial application [1]. With the new capital, the company plans to industrialise its platform into a high-throughput screening system, starting with standard 96-well plates to ensure seamless integration into existing drug discovery workflows [1]. The operational goals are ambitious: the firm targets over 50 global installations within the next few years [1]. In terms of clinical application, the ONCO-Q funding will specifically support the application of Quantum Nuova to colorectal cancer research, while the broader platform is also being geared towards critical diseases such as neurodegeneration [1]. The company aims to drive standardisation in labs globally, leveraging a diverse team to become a leader in platform technology for drug discovery [1].