The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) announced a AU$20 million (approximately US$14 million) investment in Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC), a Sydney-based global leader in silicon-based quantum computing. The NRFC announcement said SQC was the only company in the world capable of manufacturing quantum chips with atomic precision while delivering quantum-enhanced AI products.
Founded in 2017 at UNSW by Professor Michelle Simmons, SQC employed over 100 people at its Sydney R&D and manufacturing facility. The federal government already held approximately a one-third stake from prior investments totaling AU$40 million. NRFC CEO David Gall said SQC’s in-house manufacturing allowed it to “iterate significantly faster, and with greater accuracy, than its competitors.”
Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres said the investment “backs Australian ingenuity and ensures world-leading quantum technologies are designed, built, and commercialised here at home.” The NRFC investment joined existing shareholders including CBA, Telstra, UNSW, and the NSW Government. SQC was one of 11 companies globally to reach Stage B of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.