dash: "Yes, but POET didn't need his fund, so I doubt they approached him, although it certainly is possible that they have met, on neutral turf."

Don't be so sure. People around here are talking like the world is ending because they expected to get the 100nm announcment before now. CC has rightly pointed out the team consists of ~16 people...

Mike L's quantum fund seems to be an effort to stimulate tech growth in the Waterloo region.

http://quantumvalleyinvestments.com/media/

If all POET had to do is to relocate some of their team to Waterloo and hire a few locals to flesh out POET's quantum computing portfolio on Mike's dime, that might not be a bad option. This is assuming that the quantum fund doesn't want too much beyond that as a return on their investment.