SeedBlink Blog

Laurentiu Niță is the visionary founder of Quarks Interactive, the company behind the groundbreaking educational game Quantum Odyssey. Driven by a mission to democratize access to quantum computing education, Laurentiu has combined his passion and expertise to create interactive platforms that make complex quantum concepts accessible to learners of all backgrounds. Under his leadership, Quarks Interactive has successfully developed award-winning software that bridges the gap between gaming and advanced scientific learning. Laurentiu's commitment to providing equitable educational resources in the quantum field has positioned him as a notable figure in both the tech startup ecosystem and the broader quantum computing community.

Let’s learn more about your recent work at Quarks Interactive.

Certainly! The most significant recent development is that we secured funding from EEA Grants to transform our prototype versions into Quantum Odyssey: Essentials for handheld devices. We’re also working on completing a full video game version that we plan to release on Steam this year. The timing couldn’t be better since UNESCO has declared 2025 as the Year of Quantum. We are on track to offer the best software solutions in quantum education, whether it’s through learning on-the-go on handheld devices, the upcoming Steam version, or Quantum Odyssey Academia, a toolset designed for deployment in schools and universities worldwide.

In terms of partnerships, we’ve put Romania on the map in multiple ways. We founded Digiq.eu and became the first Romanian startup invited by the Korean government to participate in the K-Startup Grand Challenge program. Our R&D successes and the support from our partners have earned us numerous nominations and awards, including the “Best Startup” award in Singapore at a leading quantum tech conference (q.tech) and multiple prizes such as PatriotFest and the Stevie Awards. We’ve even seen professors win significant accolades for improving educational standards using Quantum Odyssey.

Quantum computing can be tough to grasp. How does the game make it easier for beginners?

There’s a lot of media hype around quantum computing, and many attempts to explain concepts like qubits, superposition, and entanglement are often misleading or overly complicated. Quantum Odyssey started as a research project during my Ph.D., aiming to simplify these concepts. We showed that any computation or algorithm you can perform on a real universal quantum computer can be distilled into a visual set of elements and just four colors. By achieving this, we proved that quantum computing isn’t as complex as it’s often made out to be!

Our platform allows users to create visuals that represent quantum concepts, see the underlying equations, and even export the code to run directly on quantum hardware. We always saw solving equations as akin to solving puzzles, so Quantum Odyssey naturally evolved into a beginner-friendly puzzle game where the rules are grounded in actual quantum computing principles. We rigorously tested the software in schools and universities alongside professors, publishing papers on the results. Players as young as 12, with no prior knowledge of mathematics, physics, algorithms, or coding, can learn the fundamentals of quantum computing—and best of all, they’ll enjoy doing it!

What’s been the most rewarding part of creating Quantum Odyssey, and what challenges have you faced?

The most rewarding moments came when we developed the first course materials on famous quantum algorithms. For the first time, we—the theoretical physicists working on it—could truly grasp the intuitive understanding behind the mathematical behavior these algorithms imply. We had some incredible "Eureka" moments, and I believe more are yet to come. Reading the user feedback we gather anonymously through our platform is also immensely gratifying. One memorable comment was: “This module deserves more stars than there are in the universe. I finally succeeded in teaching complex numbers to my nephew!”

As for challenges, being a Romanian quantum software company has certainly had its difficulties. We've struggled over the years to find funding sources to complete our project. Many Eastern European VCs we approached wanted us to abandon our IP and focus on outsourcing (i.e., building quantum software for other companies) to secure funding. The deep tech nature of our software required substantial upfront investment before it could be released, so it took us about six years to bring Quantum Odyssey to its current level. We never had VC backing, and most of our R&D was funded through revenue from licenses sold. We generated twice as much revenue as our initial angel investment and three times that amount in grants, which kept us moving forward. Friends in the U.S. quantum startup scene often tell us that if we had started in the U.S., we would easily have a mid-8-figure valuation by now.

It’s been a tough journey building in-house IP in Romania, but thanks to the EEA Grants program and their generous (and equity-free!) funding, we are now in a position to deliver a near-complete version of Quantum Odyssey on Steam this year and have successfully ported the older versions to handheld devices.

How do you plan to spread the word about Quantum Odyssey: Essentials and reach more users?

We’re currently raising funds and seeking partners to prepare a marketing campaign. Besides our efforts on LinkedIn, Reddit, and through our partners (such as APS Quantum Village/Defcon32, Womanium, IBM, and Digiq.eu), we can’t do much more until we secure a marketing budget.

Will the game stay free, or do you have a monetization plan?

The “Essentials” versions for iPhone, iPad, and Android are free to play, with commercials shown every three puzzles and the option to unlock an ad-free experience for $10. From what we’ve seen, it’s by far the best quantum game available on handheld devices. However, these are simplified versions of what’s to come later this year: Quantum Odyssey on Steam. This installment will take things to the next level, featuring a modern video game experience where players can collect achievements, unlock badges, and follow a well-crafted story with cutscenes and multiple endings. It will also introduce exciting features like “quantum hacking” other players. I don’t want to spoil too much, so if you’re interested in our progress, I suggest following me on LinkedIn. This will be a premium game targeted at $30, a Steam exclusive that many believe will significantly push the boundaries of what an educational game should look and feel like.

Steam edition, screenshot of a learning module. The text opens an interactive Encyclopedia, where all “quantum words” are interconnected and clickable within any learning module.

Steam Edition, Knowledge Map (wip). The players decide what sort of “quantum skills” they want to learn, by following through different learning modules, led by 4 different Sages

How big is the team at Quarks Interactive now, and how are you managing the runway to ensure the company’s growth?

When it comes to coding, I was fortunate to have a lead developer, Razvan Suciu, who took this project under his wing from day one. I’d like to give credit to Razvan and his startup, Magma Flow Games SRL. He has been working on Quantum Odyssey since 2019, and it would be hard to find a line of code that wasn’t written by him—or at least improved by him. For the past two years, we’ve been a team of five full-timers, all dedicated to seeing this project through to completion. No matter the challenges, we are committed to making it a great success on Steam. __

Do you see Quantum Odyssey becoming part of formal education or training programs? Any partnerships in the works?

We have indeed formed an impressive list of partnerships over the years. Notably, Quantum Odyssey has become the flagship educational software for the EU’s Quantum Flagship initiative and the pan-European project to teach quantum computing called Digiq.eu. This year, we won Patriotfest’s first prize for Creativity in National Security, which opened the door for discussions with the Romanian government about introducing our learning platform on a national level. We’ve also formed exciting partnerships this year with CERN’s Open Quantum Institute and DEFCON’s Quantum Village. For a longer list, please visit our website.

We’ve been organizing hackathons in quantum computing and have been involved in National Quantum Day events in Romania for years through partners like OctagonHub Romania, Măgurele Summer School, Womanium, and IBM Quantum Explorers. We are also in ongoing talks with officials in the Romanian government and at the EU level. We’ve demonstrated that kids can learn quantum computing; the challenge is that there aren’t enough educators around the world to teach it. Hopefully, with UNESCO proclaiming 2025 as the Year of Quantum, we’ll see more schools and universities wanting to add quantum to their curricula. By then, we hope everyone will know that Quantum Odyssey is the world’s most accessible, yet challenging—and incredibly fun and addictive—quantum educational resource.

You can experience Quantum Odyssey: Essentials on your preferred platform:

• iPhone Version: Download on the App Store
• Android Version: Get it on Google Play
• Steam Version: Play on Steam

For bulk license purchases and other inquiries, visit QI website.

Dive in and start your quantum journey today!