Our Story
Quantum Optima was born from a shared vision: to combine deep expertise in engineering, finance, and cutting-edge technologies like AI and quantum computing to solve the most pressing optimisation challenges across different industries, across the EU landscape.
Founded by Nikos Douros and Epameinondas (Epa) Douros — and strengthened by senior advisor John Zolotas — this venture brings together decades of business leadership, technical innovation, energy-market expertise, and digital transformation experience.
From technology projects to large-scale construction and renewable installations, from AI research to European consulting and market regulation, our journey has been shaped by one goal: to build a platform that redefines how optimisation is managed, deployed, and scaled.
Nikos Douros — CEO & Co-Founder
Energy & Business Strategy
Mechanical Engineer (NTUA) and MBA (Bayes Business School London) with 20+ years of cross-industry experience in construction, finance, and enterprise technology.
Has led multi-million-euro IT projects with Vodafone, National Bank of Greece, Procter & Gamble, HP, and OPAP, pioneering SAP solutions in telecoms and banking as Senior Sales Manager at SAP AG (1999–2005).
Founder of ARSIA Constructions SA, delivering large-scale construction and energy projects (aircraft hangars, residential complexes, infrastructure, renewable installations) and managing international financing with European Risk Capital LLP, UK.
Combines deep technical and financial expertise with proven ability to lead complex, multi-stakeholder ventures — now scaling Quantum Optima into a global SaaS and quantum optimisation platform.
Epameinondas Douros — CTO & Co-Founder
Quantum Computing & AI
Electrical & Computer Engineer (NTUA), with dual background in Naval & Marine Engineering. Passionate about Machine Learning, AI, and Quantum Computing, with hands-on delivery of advanced solutions at international level.
Currently AI Engineer at IBM (2025–present), where he has developed vision-based utilities (+15% performance), multi-threaded data pipelines (8× faster), and AI-powered medical assistants.
Competitions & Research: Finalist at QInnovision World Challenge (Dubai 2025), 2nd place at NYAD Hackathon (battery efficiency), Top 5 at QItaly Hackathon (real-time alerts). Authored thesis on Quantum Federated Learning for Fraud Detection and contributed to biomedical AI research on breast cancer analysis.
Industry & Volunteering: At Hellas Direct, automated insurance claims reducing human intervention by 80%. Volunteered in Sri Lanka with AIESEC (2023), teaching 500+ children and mentoring university candidates.
At Quantum Optima, he leads the design and implementation of the hybrid quantum–classical optimisation platform, translating cutting-edge R&D into commercially scalable SaaS solutions.
John Zolotas — Senior Advisor
Energy Markets, Regulation & PV Engineering
Senior Engineer with 20+ years of experience in renewable energy, PV project supervision, and regulatory strategy.
Has advised Greek venture capital firms on technology assessment, technical due diligence, and energy-sector investment decisions — bringing a perspective similar to senior advisors at top European accelerators.
Expert in electricity market regulation, grid compliance, PPAs, project bankability, and risk evaluation.
Ensures that Quantum Optima’s optimisation platform remains grounded in real-world operational constraints, bidding rules, and market realities across EU energy systems.
Acts as a strategic advisor to the founders, aligning technological innovation with regulatory frameworks, investor expectations, and large-scale deployment requirements.
Elena Dourou — Digital Transformation & Consulting
Graduate in Management Science & Technology (AUEB), specialized in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Information Systems. Brings 6+ years of consulting and digital transformation experience across banking, energy, telecoms, luxury goods, and construction.
Currently at Accenture Italy, where she advises corporate clients on digital adoption, transformation, and scaling innovation programs.
At Quantum Optima, she drives strategic partnerships, client success, and European market expansion.
Our Engineering Pillar — NTUA Electrical, Software & Quantum Engineers
Beyond its founders, Quantum Optima is supported by a growing network of engineers trained at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) — one of Europe’s top engineering institutions and a recognised powerhouse in applied mathematics, electrical engineering, and computational sciences.
Our extended engineering team includes specialists in:
- Electrical & Computer Engineering
- AI / Machine Learning engineering
- Quantum algorithm development (QAOA, QUBO modelling, Pauli operators)
- Optimisation and control systems
- High-performance software engineering and data systems
- Energy systems engineering (BESS operations, market integration)
These engineers contribute to the design, development, and scale-up of the Quantum Optima platform — ensuring that our architecture remains technically rigorous, mathematically robust, and capable of operating at both classical (TRL-7) and emerging quantum layers.
By combining NTUA’s academic excellence with industrial experience from IBM, Accenture, and global research competitions, our engineering pillar forms the technical backbone of Quantum Optima — enabling us to deliver real-world optimisation systems while advancing toward quantum-enhanced decision intelligence.