The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is taking a $70 million equity stake in Q-CTRL, Australia’s first venture-backed quantum technology startup. The Sydney based company is Australia’s first quantum unicorn, having recently closed its landmark US$290 million Series C fundraise at a valuation over US$1 billion.
Q-CTRL has pioneered “AI for quantum”, building infrastructure software that improves the performance of quantum hardware. This technology has proven critical to deploying quantum computers in data centres and integrating quantum sensors into real-world vehicles for commercial aviation, aerospace, and autonomous vehicles.
The company’s marquee product, Ironstone Opal, is an unjammable, unspoofable, undetectable quantum navigation system that works when GPS is unavailable. The system is field validated to deliver 100 times more accurate positioning than the best alternative and is being deployed on commercial aircraft and autonomous platforms. The technology is identified as a priority capability for Australia, the US and UK under AUKUS Pillar II.
NRFC CEO David Gall said, “Australia leads the world in quantum technology, and the NRFC’s investment in Q-CTRL strengthens that position by supporting Australian quantum technology development onshore and expanding our sovereign quantum capability.”
“Q-CTRL’s precise, versatile and secure quantum sensing technologies provide an important capability for our national security, giving our defence forces and allies access to resilient and reliable navigational technology free from the threat of interference and suitable for the most challenging missions.”
“The NRFC’s investment in Q-CTRL not only supports highly skilled quantum jobs in the short term but also secures the nation’s quantum supply chain and the expertise we need to keep Australia at the forefront of quantum technology into the future.”
Q-CTRL’s primary customers include aerospace primes, government agencies, and commercial customers in aviation and autonomy; the company has publicly acknowledged partnerships with Lockheed Martin and Airbus. McKinsey has identified the quantum technology sector as delivering over US$2 trillion in market opportunity. Q-CTRL is a category-defining business in AI-for-quantum convergence, and the company is positioned to capture value in sectors as diverse as aviation and autonomy, quantum-enabled data centres, and workforce development.
The NRFC’s investment will be used to support Q-CTRL’s research and development in Australia and the company’s plans to expand its highly skilled workforce as it accelerates its go-to-market strategy after a string of major technical demonstrations, commercial wins, and partner integrations this year, including the first successful demonstration that a quantum computer can meaningfully outperform a conventional computer in solving real-world problems. The capital will support the growth of Q-CTRL’s Australian operations, where its over 150 local staff lead the company’s quantum sensing technology R&D efforts – from development of the underlying hardware systems through to embedded software and platform integration.
Q-CTRL is the NRFC’s fifth investment in the quantum sector and is part of Australia’s long-term strategic investment in quantum technology. Australia’s world-leading quantum ecosystem has attracted talent from around the world, seeding a host of start-ups and scale-ups with bold ambitions, and offering Australian businesses access to this frontier technology.
Q-CTRL CEO and Founder Michael J. Biercuk said, “Q-CTRL is a global business with Australian roots, and we’re proud to see such strong Australian investor participation in our current fundraise. We’re grateful for the NRF’s willingness to back the best and look forward to delivering substantial commercial returns to all of our shareholders.”
With its origins in Professor Biercuk’s leading research at the University of Sydney, the company has built a world-leading team of quantum experts and robust commercial operations with over 225 staff in Australia, the US, the UK, and Europe. Q-CTRL is a global success story that demonstrates how publicly funded research can translate into significant commercial value, and how Australia can play a role in a growing and important sector of the global economy.
Q-CTRL’s US$290 million Series C funding round is led by Salesforce Ventures with significant participation from Affinity Partners and Bullhound Capital, alongside a global syndicate of new and existing investors.
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About the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC)
The NRFC is Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability. It has $15 billion to invest through direct loans, equity investments and loan guarantees across seven priority areas: renewables and low emissions technologies; enabling capabilities; defence capability; transport; value-add in resources; value-add in agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and medical science.
The NRFC’s role is to invest in Australian businesses and projects that design, refine and make to transform capability, grow jobs and a skilled workforce, and diversify our economy. The NRFC is a corporate Commonwealth entity, established by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023 (NRFC Act) in September 2023.
For more information, visit nrf.gov.au
Media contact: media@nrf.gov.au
About Q-CTRL
Q-CTRL is the pioneer in AI-powered infrastructure software for quantum technology, offering a hardware-agnostic software platform that makes quantum machines thousands of times more powerful. This opens many parallel market verticals in computing, sensing, and health, making Q-CTRL a ubiquitous quantum company based on a single unique technology.
The company’s marquee product is an unjammable, unspoofable, undetectable quantum navigation system that works when GPS is unavailable, is 100 times better than the best alternative, and is being deployed on commercial aircraft with Airbus, in autonomous platforms with Lockheed Martin, and on unmanned drones.
The company’s breakthroughs have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Newsweek. Founded in 2017 by Professor Michael J. Biercuk, Q-CTRL operates globally from offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Huntsville, Berlin, and Oxford.
For more information, visit q-ctrl.com(Opens in a new tab/window)
Media contact: qctrl@diffusionpr.com