Most startup founders look for markets. Sanjay Chittore looked for a problem.
Four years on, that approach has helped place his startup among a select group backed under India’s National Quantum Mission. Today, his company operates at the forefront of a technology that many people are still trying to understand.
In the startup world, timing is everything. But every now and then, a founder arrives too early for the room. When Sanjay Chittore began speaking about quantum technology during the pandemic years, many around him thought he had spent too much time watching science-fiction films.
Today, the founder of Quantum AI Global leads a 75-member deep-tech company building quantum products for commercial and government applications.
“Everyone thinks quantum means quantum computing. That’s an absolute myth,” he says. Instead, he points to quantum sensing & quantum communication as sectors poised to create the first wave of transformative applications. His argument is simple: technology matters only when it solves human problems.
And nowhere is that vision more striking than in healthcare. Chittore sees a future where diseases can be detected not just at the organ level, but at the level of individual cells. Such precision could fundamentally alter how medicine approaches diagnosis and treatment.
“Cancer cure is going to be a walk-in, walk-out procedure in the future with the evolution of quantum sensors,” he says.
“I said I want to build products in quantum. They thought I had watched too many sci-fi movies and gone mad,” he recalls with a laugh.
Today, the laughter has largely given way to recognition. Quantum AI Global has secured support under the Department of Science and Technology’s National Quantum Mission and PMO’s recognition.
For a country that missed the semiconductor race and arrived late to AI, Chittore believes quantum offers India a rare second chance. “India will be in the top 10 countries that achieve quantum dominance,” he predicts.
Below is a brief snapshot of the startup:
Founder: Sanjay Chittore
Incubated / Started in: IIT Hyderabad, 2022
Industry: Deep Tech – AI & Quantum Technology
Number of team members: 75
Funding received: Angel Funding, Seed Funding and support under the National Quantum Mission (NQM)
Claim to fame: Recognised by the Prime Minister’s Office among India’s leading deep-tech startups and recipient of the Aegis Graham Bell Award and Times Business Award.
Market of operation: Commercial and Government (primarily Defence)
Company culture:
Aggressive Methodical Easy-Going
Person that inspires me (PTIM): Late Ramachandra Prabhu Chittore. His father’s philosophy continues to guide him: “Science is common sense and not a subject.” That belief, he says, shaped the way he approaches both entrepreneurship and innovation.
