Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a British company, has chosen Barcelona to locate its new quantum computing centre, the largest of its kind in Southern Europe. This highly strategic project will involve an investment of €92 million and the creation of 210 jobs over the next five years. It will be OQC’s first facility in the European Union and the company’s first global development and manufacturing centre.
The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon by Oxford Quantum Circuits CEO Gerald Mullally during an event at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, presided over by the President of the Catalan Government, Salvador Illa. The presentation also featured the participation of the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance and Tourism of Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls; the Chair and CEO of COFIDES, Ángela Pérez; and Josep Lluís Sanfeliu, member of the executive committee of Barcelona Global.
The new headquarters in Barcelona, named the OQC Global Quantum Development & Manufacturing Centre, will be dedicated to the design, development and manufacturing of next-generation quantum computers, with applications in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), finance, healthcare and energy. The facilities will include laboratory space, offices, and a technical assembly and integration area to carry out applied R&D activities, industrialisation, systems integration, and quantum engineering testing.
OQC’s investment project, which originated as a spin-off from the University of Oxford, strengthens Barcelona and Catalonia’s position as a strategic player within the European quantum and innovation ecosystem. The opening of the new centre will help attract high-value talent and technology, consolidating the region as a leading destination for strategic technology projects and reinforcing its role in a sector that is key to Europe’s competitiveness and technological sovereignty.
For the establishment of this new centre in Catalonia, OQC is receiving coordinated support from the Government of Catalonia through ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness under the Department of Business and Labour; the Spanish Government, via the Co-Investment Fund (FOCO), an instrument of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) managed by COFIDES on behalf of the State Secretariat for Trade to attract investment in innovative projects in Spain; Barcelona City Council, through the Barcelona Investment Office; and Barcelona & Partners, the investment promotion agency of Barcelona Global.
A strategic project in Europe
Oxford Quantum Circuits, which plans to begin establishing its presence in Barcelona in the fourth quarter of 2026, recently closed a Series C investment round of nearly €300 million—the largest such round completed by a quantum computing company in Europe. This operation included participation from COFIDES, a public-private investment manager, which invested a total of €46 million through the Co-Investment Fund (FOCO).
President Salvador Illa stated that “when Catalonia sets its mind to something and we work together, we are unstoppable.” He reiterated that Catalonia and Barcelona are “strongly committed to Europe” and noted that Europe has outstanding scientists and “a great deal of talent, and we must work towards a European model of life that generates prosperity.” According to Illa, this prosperity “strengthens social cohesion.” During his speech, he also highlighted the importance of “collaboration between public administrations and the private sector,” pointing to successful events such as the Olympic Games and the Mobile World Congress.
According to OQC CEO Gerald Mullally, “Barcelona is our preferred location because it offers the best balance between talent, ecosystem and international connectivity.” He added that “the launch of our Global Quantum Development & Manufacturing Centre in Barcelona reflects our ambition to build the quantum infrastructure that advanced economies will need in the coming years.”
Spain’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said that “OQC’s choice of Barcelona shows that Spain is becoming a quantum hub and is already a consolidated European destination for high-value technological investment. Their arrival strengthens our productive fabric, creates skilled and well-paid jobs, and contributes to the structural modernisation of the Spanish economy, confirming that quantum computing is one of the sectors where Spain can compete at the technological forefront.”
Barcelona City Council Deputy Mayor Jordi Valls stated that “projects like OQC demonstrate that Barcelona is a leading player in the quantum revolution. We are a Mediterranean scientific and technological capital and one of Europe’s main benchmarks. Talent is our main asset. The OQC project strengthens European technological sovereignty and consolidates Barcelona as a top-tier scientific and technological hub. It also helps make the right to stay and talent retention a reality.”
COFIDES Chair and CEO Ángela Pérez highlighted the Co-Investment Fund as “an instrument to attract capital and invest in strategic projects such as OQC, which strengthen Spain’s position in cutting-edge technology sectors and contribute to the development of industrial and technological capacity in Catalonia.”
Josep Lluís Sanfeliu, member of the Executive Committee of Barcelona Global, stated that “Barcelona Global focuses on talent, while Barcelona & Partners focuses on attracting transformative projects to our city, with an eye on the future and actively seeking opportunities for future generations in relevant sectors. The arrival of OQC represents a major milestone in building from Barcelona the European deep tech and quantum computing ecosystem, leveraging its strengths in research and innovation.”
OQC, an international benchmark in quantum technology
Oxford Quantum Circuits is a British quantum computing company that develops superconducting-based computers. The company has pioneered the deployment of quantum systems in data centres and has positioned itself as Europe’s first provider of Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS). Its business model enables remote access to quantum computers, helping to expand their use and accessibility.
Founded in 2017, OQC is headquartered in Reading (Berkshire, UK) and has an international presence in the United States, where it operates a commercial subsidiary and a quantum AI data centre, as well as in Japan, where it also runs a commercial subsidiary and a colocation data centre. The company has a global workforce of 150 employees.
This project further strengthens Barcelona and Catalonia’s position as a strategic player within the European quantum and innovation ecosystem.
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