Vote now for Q.ANT and FAU alumnus Dr. Michael Förtsch
Major success for FAU alumnus Dr. Michael Förtsch. The deep-tech company he co-founded,Q.ANT, has reached the final of the “Spark Award 2026” from Handelsblatt and McKinsey. Under this year’s motto of “scaling deep-tech”, ten innovative deep-tech companies that are tackling key challenges of the future with their technologies have been chosen. Q.ANT is one of them – and is competing against nine other highly innovative start-ups for the prestigious award.
Vote now and support Q.ANT!
The winner of the Spark Award 2026 is determined on the basis of public votes and a specialist jury. Vote now and support Q.ANT and FAU alumnus Dr. Michael Förtsch with your vote. You can vote here:
Computing with light instead of only with electricity
Q.ANT develops photonic processors that use light to make calculations. The aim behind the technology is to open up new opportunities, in particular for computationally intensive applications such as artificial intelligence and high performance computing – and to boost energy efficiency at the same time.
The original scientifically ambitious deep-tech idea has since grown into a company with its own processors and specific applications. Q.ANT exemplifies the pathway from research to industrial innovation.
Particularly good news for FAU: A member of the FAU alumni community has reached the final of one of the most prestigious deep-tech competitions in Germany with his company.