Power Play: Olivia Leng’s startup takes on one of quantum computing’s biggest challenges

Olivia Leng has an impressive and eclectic resume for a 21-year-old. The Toronto-born daughter of Cambodian refugees is a Royal Conservatory of Music-trained piano teacher, a certified lifeguard, a powerlifter who can squat 355 pounds (161 kilograms), past-president of the University of Toronto chemistry student union and an alumnus of the Next 36 program for promising young entrepreneurs and Creative Destruction Lab startup accelerator. She’s two credits shy of a materials science degree, but probably won’t finish because she’s too busy building her second technology company.

The goal for her latest startup, Meissner, is ambitious: to invent a high-performance superconducting material that could unblock a key commercialization challenge for two technologies of the future: quantum computers and fusion reactors. “We want to be the Corning Inc. of superconductors,” she said, referring to the U.S. ceramics and glass innovator.

That leads to what may be her top accomplishment so far: Convincing a slew of prominent Canadian tech entrepreneurs and financiers to open their wallets for her.

On Tuesday, Meissner is announcing it has raised $3.6-million from investors including Anthony Lacavera, founder of telco upstart Globalive Technology Inc., Christian Weedbrook, CEO of Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd., and Eliot Pence, founder of defence technologies developer Dominion Dynamics Inc. Other investors include serial entrepreneurs and brothers Michael and Richard Hyatt, prominent angel investor and ex-Shopify Inc. executive Daniel Debow, General Fusion Group Ltd. CEO Greg Twinney, Ada Support Inc. CEO Mike Murchison and Dennis Bennie, co-founder of pioneering Canadian software company Delrina Corp.