Austin's Strangeworks lands $24 million even as many tech companies are cutting jobs

Lori Hawkins, Austin American-Statesman
·4 min read
William Hurley, known as "whurley," addresses an audience at SXSW 2023. He launched Austin-based quantum computing company Strangeworks at SXSW in 2018. The company has raised $24 million to expand its platform and its team.
William Hurley, known as "whurley," addresses an audience at SXSW 2023. He launched Austin-based quantum computing company Strangeworks at SXSW in 2018. The company has raised $24 million to expand its platform and its team.

At a time when many tech companies are cutting jobs and venture capital investments are slowing, an Austin quantum computing startup is in expansion mode.

Strangeworks has raised $24 million for growth from big names, including Hitachi Ventures, IBM and Raytheon Technologies, with follow-on investment from seed investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, GreatPoint Ventures and Ecliptic Capital.

The company said the investment solidifies its trajectory for the next five years.

Strangeworks was founded in 2017 by William Hurley, an Austin serial software entrepreneur who is known by the nickname "whurley."

Hurley said the new funding "represents a significant milestone for Strangeworks. Five years ago, I took the stage at SXSW for our first quantum computing keynote. Since that day this team has stayed focused on our core mission, continuously outpacing industry expectations while diligently managing capital."

He added that raising the funding "from these exceptional investors in this challenging economic climate sends a clear message to the market on where enterprise companies are placing their bets in the race to create quantum value."

Strangeworks designs quantum software tools for software developers, system managers, researchers, technical staff and chief information officers.

The tools are aimed at helping users take advantage of quantum computers, which are devices designed to harness the rules of quantum mechanics to deliver more processing power than traditional computers.

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The 14-person company is focused on providing quantum tools in industries including aerospace, energy, finance and pharmaceuticals.

The new funding will allow the company to offer a wider range of technologies beyond quantum computing, including quantum-inspired, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

"Quantum computing is here, but exploiting its advantages requires rare know-how and lots of capital," said Ray Lane, managing partner of GreatPoint Ventures. "Strangeworks democratizes quantum computing by opening proprietary platforms to consumption-based usage. This is how large tech markets are unleashed."

Amid current tech layoffs, Hurley said he sees an opportunity to recruit skilled workers: "In all honesty, we already have taken advantage of this. During the month of December we brought on several new talented people from across industry."

Recent tech workforce reductions in Austin on the rise

The new cash infusion to Strangeworks comes as other companies with an Austin presence slash their workforces. Recent work reductions include security contract firm Security Specialists Inc., a California-based company that is cutting 240 Austin jobs. The company's clients have included big tech names, including Google, Facebook and Apple.

Meanwhile, Israeli-based software company Wix.com is cutting 100 jobs here and dozens more in other U.S. cities. Wix, which is based in Tel Aviv, sells cloud-based web development services.

More:Website builder Wix.com to lay off 100 workers in Austin

Austin has reaped the benefits of being a technology hub with a flood of growth over the past several years, seeing a number of major companies expand operations or move their headquarters here.

But tech giants with large Austin presences — including Google, Facebook parent company Meta, Austin-based Tesla, and Round Rock-based Dell Technologies — have all laid off thousands of employees since late last year.

Meta recently announced another major round of layoffs. The company has cut at least 220 Austin jobs so far, according to a WARN letter — short for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Facebook said late last year that it would no longer be using an office space it had long anticipated expanding into in downtown Austin. Facebook had signed a lease to occupy all 589,000 square feet of office space in the mixed-use tower called Sixth and Guadalupe, but it now is instead subleasing the space.

This week, Austin-based job site Indeed.com said it will lay off 2,200 employees, or roughly 15% of its global team, citing a cooldown in the overall job market and demand for its technology.

More:Austin-based job site Indeed announces 2,200 layoffs worldwide

The company, which is one of Austin's biggest technology employers, announced the cuts in a blog post of an email sent to employees by Indeed CEO Chris Hyams on Wednesday. Hyams said the cuts come across the company, from nearly every team, function, level and region. He said Indeed also will be instituting other cost-saving measures.

Statesman reporter Kara Carlson contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin quantum computing company Strangeworks raises $24 million