Michael Förtsch

Dr. Michael Förtsch is the founder and CEO of Q.ANT GmbH, a Stuttgart-based deep-tech company he founded in 2018 with the mission of transforming computing through photonics. He studied mathematics and physics and earned his doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen. Under his leadership, Q.ANT develops photonic processing solutions that compute natively with light, offering a scalable and energy-efficient alternative to transistor-based systems for next-generation AI and HPC applications. Most recently, Q.ANT closed a Series A funding round totaling $80 million — the largest financing round for photonic computing in Europe. Förtsch has been recognized as one of Capital's "Top 40 Under 40" and named among Handelsblatt's "30 Executives to Shape Germany".