Any electrical engineer can tell you why operational amplifiers matter. They are the components responsible for taking weak, noisy signals and turning them into usable information. Nearly every sensor, communication system, and computing device relies on them. Without amplifiers, modern electronics simply would not work.

What many people don't know is that Analog Devices, now a company worth more than $200 billion, built its original claim to fame by creating a scalable version of the operational amplifier and helping move the industry from vacuum tubes to transistor-based amplification. That transition did more than improve existing electronics — it unlocked entirely new categories of products and industries.

Quantum computing faces its own signal problem.

Unlike classical computers, quantum systems operate with extraordinarily fragile signals. Two of the biggest challenges are noise — unwanted interference that corrupts information — and heat, which can disrupt the delicate quantum states required for computation. Extracting useful information without disturbing the system itself has become one of the defining engineering challenges in the field.

The latest edition to the Two Small Fish Ventures portfolio, Qubic, is attacking that bottleneck directly.

The company's quantum amplifier dissipates 10,000x less heat than the amplifiers commonly used in today's quantum systems. By dramatically reducing heat generation at cryogenic temperatures, Qubic removes one of the major constraints preventing quantum computers from scaling. In a field where every milliwatt matters, Qubic’s work represents a fundamental step forward.

But the implications extend beyond quantum computing.

In modern electronic warfare and sensing systems, there is a persistent signal-to-noise paradox: the more aggressively a system attempts to detect a target, the more likely it is to reveal its own position. Detection and concealment exist in constant tension. The world spends more than $30 billion annually on radar systems built around this reality.

Qubic combines its amplifier technology with quantum pulse and detection techniques to pursue a different approach. By leveraging the unique properties of quantum systems, the company is developing sensing technologies designed to improve detection capabilities while reducing the risk of exposing the sensing platform itself. If successful, this could reshape some of the fundamental assumptions that underpin modern radar and electronic warfare.

History shows that breakthroughs in infrastructure often unlock entirely new technological eras. The transition from vacuum tubes to transistor-based amplifiers did not simply make electronics better — it made entirely new categories of electronics possible. The same may prove true for quantum systems. What Analog Devices did for classical signals, Qubic is attempting to do for quantum signals.

The incredible brains behind this technology are Jérôme Bourassa and Meg Panetta, two world-class scientists whose work builds on decades of pioneering research in circuit quantum electrodynamics and superconducting quantum circuits. They come from some of the world's leading quantum research institutions and represent a direct continuation of the scientific lineage that helped establish the modern quantum industry.

Two Small Fish Ventures is proud to lead Qubic's oversubscribed seed round alongside the University of California Investment Fund, Quantacet, and UCeed.