QED Investors

QED's Cole Lundquist had a wonderful evening co-hosting a private dinner for Chicago's VC community with Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and World Business Chicago. We are always grateful for the opportunity to connect with experts in the fintech, proptech and insurtech ecosystems to discuss how we can unlock more opportunities for collaboration and growth. Thank you to all who joined.

Quantum computing firm and QED portfolio company Quantinuum today unveiled its latest computer in NYC called Helios. Helios stands out with 98 physical qubits and 48 logical error-corrected qubits, an impressive 2:1 ratio that offers the promise of delivering reliable answers to problems that conventional computers would take years to solve, if at all. This comes on the heels of closing a $800 million round. This is the major step that builds the foundation for true commercialization of quantum. Congratulations to the Quantinuum team on this huge milestone. https://lnkd.in/eTkmVtts Chuckie Reddy Alex Taub #QEDInvestors #Fintech #VentureCapital #Quantum

QED Investors has a substack! Here's the biggest mistake founders are making in the age of AI: forgetting that scarcity creates value. Lots of talk about moats and wrappers. Here's a simple way to know where you stand: * Moats answer the question: What is easy for you that will be hard for someone else? * Wrappers answer the question: What is easy now because of AI that used to be hard? Every startup has the same answer to the question "why now?" So founders need to look deeper and answer the question "Why you?" https://lnkd.in/e4b7tn6J

The finance back office is entering its first real upgrade cycle in decades. For too long, enterprise resource planning and accounting systems have been defined by complexity, high cost and stale data, operating more as check-the-box utilities than strategic enablers. Today, a new wave of AI-native challengers is reimagining the CFO stack from the ground up. These platforms automate ingestion, reconciliation and reporting while delivering real-time insights and decision support. Importantly, AI doesn’t replace the accountant, it redefines the role, shifting from bookkeeper to advisor, from execution to judgment. This transition is not without hurdles: culture inertia and adoption risks are real. Across the market, several themes stand out. Structural headwinds like the accounting labor shortage are colliding with powerful tailwinds from AI and cloud adoption, creating both urgency and opportunity. Meanwhile, new business models, deeper vertical specialization and an influx of fresh capital are reshaping how finance software is built, bought and used. QED's Shruti Batra and Laura Bock share why the opportunities are massive, but the winners will be those who pair automation with trust, precision and seamless adoption. https://lnkd.in/efqdPqeu

This week, Adams Conrad took the stage at Borderless.xyz's Stablecoin Day event hosted at The Venetian Resort in Vegas. During the panel, Why VCs Bet on Stablecoin Adoption, Adams joined the stage with managing partner at Amity Ventures CJ Reim, general partner at Galaxy Mike Giampapa and investors at Flourish Ventures Evi M. to discuss the current landscape and market activity, key friction and adoption barriers and give a look into the path ahead. Thanks to Borderless.xyz for inviting Adams to join the conversation.

At our annual CEO Summit, managing partner Nigel Morris shared his 2025 “State of the Union” on fintech. The message was clear: fintech has emerged from a turbulent few years stronger, more resilient and perfectly positioned for the next decade of growth. Key takeaways: Funding has stabilized: Global VC/PE fintech investment is holding steady at ~$15 billion a quarter, with healthier valuations that look more like 2019 than the froth of 2021. Profitable growth is the new mantra: 69 percent of fintechs are now profitable (up from 39 percent in 2022), while revenues have still grown 21 percent YoY. The IPO window is reopening: Chime, Circle and eToro have already gone public this year, with Revolut, Klarna, Stripe and others preparing. Regulatory winds are shifting: In the U.S., reduced CFPB enforcement and stablecoin clarity (via the GENIUS Act) are creating optimism, while global markets like India and Brazil continue to set the pace with forward-looking frameworks. AI is a step function: Fintechs are using AI to cut costs, boost productivity and scale faster, turning lead into gold while many banks hesitate. The opportunities ahead of us are enormous. We're entering a new period of profitable growth instead of growth at all costs and fintechs are perfectly positioned to take advantage of these greenfield opportunities.

QED has a new substack where you can subscribe for free to receive insights and thought leadership from the QED team. We're kicking things off with a wonderful post from Laura Bock and Shruti Batra about how finance’s back office is entering its biggest upgrade cycle in decades and why now is the time to rebuild the CFO stack with AI. Hit the subscribe button on the page to receive our insight and analysis in your inbox and through the Substack app. https://lnkd.in/epeaimHn

📹 Founders and CEOs might often view sleep as a tradeoff for productivity, but research has shown that the opposite is true. Sleep directly impacts decision quality, emotional regulation, creativity and long-term performance. In part two of the video series The Body is Your Boardroom, Maryalice Giroux Viljoen, QED’s Vice President of Administration and Certified Executive Coach, speaks with Mike Pincus, performance coach and former founder, about why entrepreneurs frequently deprioritize sleep and how that choice affects leadership and business outcomes. They discuss: 🧠 The cognitive and physiological effects of sleep deprivation 😴 Why founders often mistake exhaustion for commitment 💪 Practical strategies to build better sleep habits for sustainable performance Watch the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/e4ATPP4p

It’s been a busy October at QED, from hosting our 17th Annual CEO Summit, to publishing our new report, Seizing the Bank Charter Moment: Implications for Fintechs and Banks, to welcoming new faces across our team. Read the full update in our latest newsletter 👇