Queensland researchers launch quantum startup AQC with $3 million boost
Queensland-based quantum startup AQC has launched with a $3 million investment to advance Australia’s quantum technology landscape.
The University of Queensland’s (UQ) has announced the co-founding of Australia’s first superconducting quantum hardware startup – Analog Quantum Circuits (AQC). This coincides with a $3 million investment from Uniseed.
Co-founded by professor Tom Stace and associate professor Arkady Federov, AQC is the result of a decade of theoretical and experimental research on engineering quantum systems.
What AQC does in the quantum computing space
AQC focuses on the commercialisation of microwave circulators that are 1000 times smaller than their contemporary counterparts. According to professor Stace, commercial circulators are the size of a matchbox, but ACQ has shrunk them to the width of a human hair.
“Superconducting platforms are one of the leading approaches to quantum computing being taken internationally. IBM, Google, Microsoft etc are using various superconducting technologies,” professor Stace said in an email to SmartCompany.
Professor Stace said that ACQ is building miniature components that will then scale with a quantum computer. This means its tech can be used by other companies developing quantum tech.
“This is important because it is part of a strategic capability that Australia can contribute to one of the dominant hardware approaches being pursued internationally,” Professor Stace said.
AQC utilises cryogenic dilution fridges that operate at temperatures plummeting to minus 273 degrees, making them 100 times colder than outer space. This is because quantum hardware is extremely sensitive, so the microwave circulator acts as a shield against ambient electrical noise, which is said to be 10,000 too loud for the technology at room temperature.
This tech bridges the communication channel between the outer world and the quantum computer, ensuring temperature stability between the fridge’s interior and exterior.
Professor Stace says the circulators are important for a range of microwave systems, “including radar, mobile telecommunications, ground-to-space relays, and in quantum computing”.
“In particular in quantum computing, there is a need to shrink these components so that they can be integrated on a silicon chip, and fit inside the very tight space constraints of cryogenic fridges,” Professor Stace said.
Now that AQC is official and has funding, professor Stace says that the next steps include proving out the tech and then developing key customer channels.
“At present, we are doing our R&D in-house, in Brisbane, but we will be reaching out to partners and potential customers as we prove out our technology capability,” he said.
“In the longer term, company roadmaps are planning for quantum computers with 100,000 to 1 million ‘qubits’ (the elementary bits of a quantum computer). Getting from where we are now, with a few hundred to that scale, requires miniaturisation and integration, a bit like what happened with digital computing in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.”
Quantum investment continues in Australia
Quantum investment in Australia has seen increased support both from the government and private sectors in 2023.
Back in May, the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, introduced Australia’s inaugural national quantum strategy. This is part of Labor’s National Reconstruction Fund, where $1 billion was earmarked for critical technologies, including quantum.
Just one week after this the federal budget allocated $101.2 million over a span of five years to support small businesses incorporating quantum and AI technologies.
The Queensland government also unveiled its commitment to quantum technology by announcing a $76 million investment over four years via its Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy. This dovetails with the Federal Government’s National Quantum Strategy.
And just last week Q-CTRL partnered with TAFE to offer its Black Opal quantum educational technology software to students for free to help democratise access to quantum education outside of universities.
The private sector isn’t lagging either. This year, two Australian quantum startups have witnessed substantial capital raises, underscoring the heightened interest and belief in quantum technology’s potential. Quantum Brilliance saw a $25.7 million cash injection and Silicon Quantum Computing got a whopping $50 million.
Still, it’s still early days when it comes to Australia’s quantum journey.
“Full quantum computing is very hard. Perhaps 10 years away before large-scale commercially relevant computations are achievable,” professor Stace said.
“In the meantime, there are other quantum technologies around sensors that will be important proof points.”
While we won’t see quantum computing in the mainstream in the next couple of years, Professor Stace advocates getting involved early.
“A nation or organisation that has access to quantum technology will have a head start in important areas that are related to national security, computation, and communication,” professor Stace said.
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