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IBM Has 37 Quantum Patent Applications in India. Our 201 Quantum Startups Are Matched to 18.

As the National Quantum Mission grows to 26 startups and Quanfluence raises $10 million, we set the news against our data. Foreign firms hold 55% of India's granted quantum patents in our index, Indian companies file 8% of applications, and the mission itself co-led the sector's two largest rounds on our record.

Published 19 Oct 2026

Quantum patent applications in our index: 526
Granted quantum patents held by foreign applicants: 55%
Quantum companies matched to any patent application: 20 of 201
Disclosed private rounds on our record: $74.5M

India's quantum field had a busy three weeks. On 30 September the National Quantum Mission (NQM) announced nine more startups at its PRAGATI Q-Foundry meet in New Delhi, taking the number it supports to 26, from 8 in November 2024 and 17 in April 2026. On 5 October IIT Delhi reported sending entangled photons alongside classical data over 50 km of optical fibre. On 7 October Quanfluence, a photonic quantum computing company incubated at IIT Madras, raised $10 million led by Chiratae Ventures, with Pi Ventures and Rainmatter by Zerodha. On 15 October Samsung Semiconductor India Research and IISc opened a quantum research lab on the IISc campus, funded through Samsung's CSR.

We set that news against our data, 17 October 2026: the 201 deep-tech companies on our list whose primary sector is quantum, the 526 quantum patent applications in our index, and the private rounds on our record. Three things stand out. Foreign companies hold most of the granted quantum patents. Indian startups are a small part of the filing. And the two largest private rounds on our record in the sector were co-led by the mission itself.

Who files: foreign firms, institutes and individuals in near-equal shares

Of the 526 quantum patent applications in our index, 166 (32%) come from foreign applicants, 154 (29%) from Indian universities and institutes, 150 (29%) from individuals filing in their own names, and 40 (8%) from Indian companies. Grants tell a different story. Foreign applicants hold 68 of the 124 granted quantum patents, 55%. Individuals hold 6.

The mix has shifted fast. Foreign applicants filed 26 of the 30 applications we hold from 2021 and 31 of 44 from 2022; in 2025 they filed 28 of 147. Most of the growth since 2024 comes from Indian institutes (124 applications) and individuals (137). Part of the shift is timing: a foreign filer's Indian application often enters the record two or more years after its first filing abroad, so recent years will gain foreign filings later.

Quantum patent applications in our index by filer type (our data, 17 October 2026)
Filer type	Applications	Share	Filed since 2024	Granted
Foreign applicants	166	31.6%	62	68
Indian universities, institutes and government	154	29.3%	124	35
Individuals (India)	150	28.5%	137	6
Indian companies	40	7.6%	22	12
Unclassified	16	3.0%	13	3
All	526	100%	358	124

Top filers: IBM, Microsoft and a French computer maker

Five foreign companies, IBM (37 applications), Microsoft (29), Bull of France (20), Silicon Quantum Computing of Australia (13) and Google (6), account for 105 applications, a fifth of the field. IBM alone holds 26 grants. The leading Indian filers are Vellore Institute of Technology with 13 and IIT Madras and Tata Consultancy Services with 10 each. QNu Labs, with 5, is the largest filer among quantum startups.

Many institute filings come from teaching universities: VIT, SR University and Saveetha are in the top group with no grants yet. IIT Madras (6 granted of 10), IIT Kharagpur (4 of 6) and IISc (4 of 4) are the research-led exceptions. IIT Madras ties to this month's news, since Quanfluence is incubated there. Samsung, IISc's new lab partner, has no quantum application matched in our index.

Largest filers of quantum patent applications in our index (our data, 17 October 2026)
Filer	Country	Applications	Granted
IBM (incl. IBM UK as co-applicant)	US	37	26
Microsoft Technology Licensing	US	29	18
Bull	France	20	3
Silicon Quantum Computing	Australia	13	0
Vellore Institute of Technology	India	13	0
IIT Madras	India	10	6
Tata Consultancy Services	India	10	1
IIT Kharagpur	India	6	4
IIT Delhi	India	6	0
Google	US	6	4
QNu Labs	India	5	3

Computing, communication, sensing

We sorted the applications by what they claim. Computing (qubits, circuits, algorithms, error correction) is 302 applications, 57% of the field, and it is where foreign firms are strongest, with 117 of the 302. Communication (key distribution, random numbers, quantum networks) has 96 and sensing (magnetometers, clocks, atom traps, imaging) 59. In both, foreign applicants file about one in six and Indian institutes lead, with 35 of the communication filings and 31 of the 59 in sensing.

Communication is where Indian companies are most visible, with 10 of 96 applications against 19 of 302 in computing. It is also where the mission reports its clearest progress: 1,000 km of quantum-secure communication in about three years, against a 2,000 km target for eight. IIT Delhi's 50 km result sits in the same strand.

Quantum patent applications by area and filer type, with companies on our list by stated focus (our data, 17 October 2026; areas are our keyword grouping)
Area	Applications	Foreign	Indian institutes	Individuals	Indian companies	Granted	Companies on our list describing this work
Computing	302	117 (39%)	71	87	19	65	123
Communication	96	15 (16%)	35	32	10	23	62
Sensing	59	9 (15%)	31	12	5	11	27
Components, materials, other	69	25 (36%)	17	19	6	25	n/a

201 companies, 20 matched to a patent

The 201 quantum companies on our list are 0.7% of the 28,866 deep-tech companies on it. Twenty of them (10%) are matched to at least one patent application in our index, against 16.7% for deep-tech companies as a whole. Twelve are matched to an application tagged quantum, 18 in all, or 3.4% of the field. QNu Labs leads with 20 matched applications, 5 of them quantum. Quanfluence is matched to 6, 3 tagged quantum; its 2025 application for an optical Ising solver is tagged to computing.

Karnataka has the most quantum companies on our list, 32, then Maharashtra with 30, Telangana and Tamil Nadu with 26 each and Delhi with 17. By city, Bengaluru has 30, Hyderabad 22, Chennai and its neighbouring districts 15 and Pune 13.

The money: the mission co-led the two largest rounds

Our record holds nine private rounds for eight quantum companies, compiled from public reports. Six have disclosed amounts, adding to $74.5 million. The largest are QpiAI's $32 million Series A in July 2025 and QNu Labs' ₹200 crore ($21 million on our record) Series A1 in September 2026. The National Quantum Mission co-led both, with Avataar Ventures and Speciale Invest respectively, so the state is an equity investor here as well as a grant-maker. Quanfluence's $10 million is third, then QpiAI's $6.5 million in 2024 and BQP's $5 million seed in 2025.

Every disclosed round on our record dates from June 2024 or later. QpiAI and QNu Labs account for $59.5 million, 80% of the disclosed total; that describes this record, not the market.

The mission's startups on our list

The mission has named 17 of its 26 startups: eight in November 2024 and nine in April 2026. We found no published names for the nine added on 30 September. Sixteen of the 17 are on our list; Quantum AI Global is not matched. Only 8 of the 16 carry quantum as their primary sector with us. The rest are tagged to what they build: Dimira (cryogenic cables), Pristine Diamonds, Quan2D and Sense-XT to materials, ORVIS Semi and Bumblebee Instruments to semiconductors, and Prenishq (diode lasers) and SAS Qute Electronics to robotics and automation. A count by primary sector understates the quantum supply chain.

Six of the 16 are matched to patent applications in our index: QNu Labs (20), Quanastra (4), GDQLabs (3), QpiAI (2), Bloq (1) and Bumblebee Instruments (1). Only QpiAI and QNu Labs have a disclosed private round on our record.

What to watch

The names of the nine startups added on 30 September, which will show where the mission is widening its bets. Whether Quanfluence meets its target of first photonic processors in 2027. Whether the Samsung and IISc lab, which will work on qubit characterisation, cryogenic electronics and single-photon devices, produces filings. And whether Indian companies, with 22 applications since 2024, begin to narrow the gap with foreign firms on grants.

How we counted

Quantum companies are deep-tech companies on our list (Startup India-recognised, yes or maybe deep-tech verdict, not closed or merged) whose primary sector tag is quantum. Patent applications are those tagged quantum in our index, which concentrates on applications filed from 2022 onward, so earlier years are thin. Filer type is the primary applicant's class; individuals include applications that name no company or institute. The computing, communication and sensing split is ours, by keyword on each application's sub-theme, then its key technologies and title. Company focus is by keyword on profiles and can place a company in more than one area. Funding is verified private rounds on our record, excluding grants and RDI Fund support; company-level cumulative estimates are kept out of the totals. A company matched to an application is matched by name, which is not a statement of ownership.

In our data

Startups

Quanfluence QNu Labs QpiAI BQP (BosonQ Psi)Quanastra GDQLabs Bloq Quantum Dimira Technologies Pristine Diamonds Quan2D Technologies Sense-XT Innovations ORVIS Semi Bumblebee Instruments Prenishq SAS Qute Electronics

Sectors

Quantum Materials & Nanotech Semiconductors Robotics & Industrial Automation

Sources

This briefing is AI-generated from Deeptech Navigator's patent and startup data and lightly reviewed before publishing. Treat it as a starting point, not professional advice - figures are directional, so verify before relying on any number. The platform takes no responsibility for decisions made on it.

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