Sydney's Q-CTRL wins backing from global technology funds
Professor Michael Biercuk at the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, home for Q-CTRL.
Three global technology funding giants have invested in Q-CTRL, Australia鈥檚 first venture-capital-backed quantum technology company, established by the University of Sydney鈥檚 Professor Michael Biercuk.
and (Data Collective) with Hong Kong-based today announced completion of Q-CTRL鈥檚 seed round initiated last year by Australia鈥檚 .
Sequoia China, a leading investment firm, is adept at partnering with winners in technology having worked closely with some of the world鈥檚 most successful companies. DCVC is a newer but equally prestigious Silicon Valley fund focused on artificial intelligence and deep technology. It was one of the earliest investors in quantum computing hardware manufacturer, Rigetti and its founding team has been investing in quantum technologies for almost two decades.
聽鈥淭his is a very exciting investment from some of the world鈥檚 most experienced and knowledgeable venture capitalists,鈥� said founder and CEO, , head of the University鈥檚 .
Sequoia China and DCVC add a substantial contribution to Q-CTRL鈥檚 multimillion dollar seed stage investments. Their capital, with a top-up from early backers, Horizons Ventures, completes the seed round. Horizons Ventures has previously funded Spotify, Skype and Facebook at an early stage.
Steven Ji, a partner at Sequoia China, said: 鈥淥ur mission is to invest in companies that can change the world. Q-CTRL and its founder Michael Biercuk are a perfect fit for that mission and we are excited to become partners to help Q-CTRL grow.鈥�
Q-CTRL is the global leader in one of the missing pieces in building scalable quantum computers. The company, which now employs 15 people based at the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, focuses on control techniques to stabilise the quantum bits that are used to build quantum computers, quantum sensors and related technology.
Professor Biercuk said: 鈥淟ooking back at how the Wright brothers transformed aviation, we know that control has helped build an industry before. Q-CTRL will do the same for quantum technology.
鈥淲e are growing rapidly and closing this round with such a powerful team is an enormous vote of confidence in what we鈥檝e built and the potential for Australian companies to operate globally.鈥�
James Hardiman, Partner at DCVC, said: 鈥淲e appreciate that the US is not the only wellspring of deep-tech innovation and were incredibly impressed by what Professor Biercuk and the Q-CTRL team had built and demonstrated.
鈥淐oherence time is a bottleneck in quantum computing and their application of cutting-edge research to address an imminent commercial problem is exactly the kind of company we back at DCVC.鈥�
In April, Q-CTRL became one of just eight start-ups worldwide to be invited to , enabling a collaboration with a leading quantum computer hardware manufacturer.
Q-CTRL builds on fundamental research undertaken at the Quantum Control Laboratory at the Sydney Nanoscience Hub, the flagship building of the .
The team includes alumni and doctoral students from the University.
The University鈥檚 Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Duncan Ivison, said: 鈥淨-CTRL is a great example of a successful spin-out of long-term research as cutting-edge commercial enterprise. We are proud to host Professor Biercuk鈥檚 company and are thrilled Q-CTRL is going from strength-to-strength.鈥�
