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As Denmark sets its sights on becoming Europe’s leader in quantum technology, companies like Molecular Quantum Solutions (MQS) show how that ambition is already taking shape. Based in Copenhagen, the startup is applying quantum chemistry and quantum computing to real-world problems today – while national infrastructure catches up.
Denmark recently launched one of Europe’s boldest quantum initiatives. An €80 million national investment to host “Magne,” a Level 2 quantum computer built with Microsoft and Atom Computing. As part of a new programme called QuNorth, it’ll be focused on solving hard problems in chemistry and materials development using quantum technology. While that system is still years away, the broader goal is already taking shape.
This national push is one part of a larger story. The real signal is not just new hardware, but the companies already applying quantum principles to solve meaningful problems.
Copenhagen-based startup Molecular Quantum Solutions (MQS) is one example. When Mark Nicholas Jones founded MQS in 2019, the buzz around quantum computing was still to be triggered. But he saw an immediate opportunity to implement a relevant industrial quantum chemistry model – to help researchers simulate complex molecular systems and accelerate product development in pharma and chemicals.
“If you want to know how a new drug behaves or dissolves in a specific liquid or mixture, you don't always need to run dozens of physical tests,” says Mark. “You can simulate the molecular behaviour directly, and because of the available computer power on the market now, it only takes a few hours instead of weeks to receive a set of data points.”
Unlike many startups in this space, MQS is not focused on drug discovery. They are focused on formulation, the stage where many drugs actually fail.
"Everyone talks about AI for drug discovery. We deliberately focus on what comes after. The formulation development step. Because that’s where a lot of new drugs fail," says Mark.
This makes the company relevant far beyond pharma. Their platform, Cebule, is already being used by companies in life sciences, chemistry, and materials design. Through an accelerator and other initiatives, MQS last year started engaging in a collaboration with Japanese tech giant Fujitsu, while also building commercial ties in North America, Australia, and across the EU.
Mark explains that they’ve built an automated modelling system designed to work for researchers, not just for CTOs or quantum specialists.
“They don’t need to talk to us. They can just log in and run their quantum chemistry calculation,” he says. “When research teams from industry see our software, they’re usually quite impressed with what we’ve achieved as a startup and want to interact further to see how the specific models in our software can enhance their own R&D workflows.”
But MQS is not just another R&D software company. It is also part of a broader effort to strengthen Denmark and Europe’s position in deep tech. The company runs entirely on European cloud infrastructure and contributes to local ecosystem development by supporting hackathons, research partnerships, and public-private collaborations.
"We’re scaling with European infrastructure which is super important to us. Even our software tools for internal operations are European, like Nextcloud and Element, but it’s not just about the tech stack. It’s about contributing to the digital ecosystem we want to be part of," says Mark.
The new QuNorth initiative, which was mentioned earlier, is a sign that Denmark is doubling down on quantum infrastructure. MQS is contributing to this momentum in its own way by building the software tools that make emerging quantum computers useful in practice.
The company also backs it up with substance. MQS is currently involved in an industrial PhD partnership with Kaur Kristjuhan and Dominic Berry, one of the leading researchers in quantum computing. The team has already generated multiple patents, and it continues to expand its set of patents and software models while onboarding enterprise customers with complex simulation needs.
Further, MQS is engaged in a German Aerospace Center project together with d-fine and planqc. And in April this year, they kickstarted a quantum computing project with Oxford Ionics, Qedma, the Technical University of Denmark and Copenhagen University.
“Many startups seek the public attention quite a lot, which I guess this article is also kind of an example of, but I don’t believe that big stages and spotlight help build the perfect product,” says Mark. “So, for the last five years, we’ve just been focusing on building and informing. Talking to researchers, integrating feedback and making the product better.”
