Sydney, Australia – 24 July 2023 – Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC) has closed a $50.4m Series A capital raising to fund its ongoing quest to manufacture the world’s first scalable, error corrected quantum computer.

 

Pictured: Joris Keizer, Yousun Chung, Sam Gorman, Charles Hill, Michelle Simmons, Casey Myers, Ludwik Kranz, Ramon Buckland, Andrew Bridger.

The investors in this round comprise the Commonwealth Government and some of Australia’s most prominent institutions, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Telstra and the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The Series A round was priced at $1.75 per share, taking SQC’s valuation to $195.3m, up from a previous valuation of $82.8m. The uplift signals confidence in the company’s technical and commercial roadmap.

“SQC has a globally unique technology to manufacture processors with atomic precision, and this approach to building a quantum computer has many advantages over our multinational competitors,” said Michelle Simmons, CEO of SQC.

“History has shown that emerging technology ecosystems cluster around organisations that manufacture,” Simmons continued. “Backed by this funding and our team of incredibly talented physicists and engineers from around the world, SQC is well placed to become a central hardware manufacturing hub for the quantum computing industry, both in Australia and globally.”

The Australian Government released its National Quantum Strategy in May 2023, alongside the updated List of Critical Technologies in the National Interest, in which quantum technologies is a priority field. According to CSIRO, Quantum computing is projected to be a $6 billion opportunity for Australia and create 19,400 jobs over the next two decades.

It is with this backdrop that SQC’s raise takes shape. According to SQC Chair, Stephen Menzies, “This funding will enable SQC to work towards our next milestone – creating the world’s first logical qubit in silicon.”

In terms of the overall size of SQC’s raise, Menzies commented, “We are happy to achieve an up-round in such a tight funding environment. In periods where capital is expensive, we see it as advantageous to defer a bigger raise.”

Quotes from valued partners:

Kim Krogh Andersen, Group Executive Product & Technology at Telstra:

“We’re a big believer in the potential of quantum computing to transform industries and solve some of world’s problems that challenge us today. This potential and our belief in Michelle Simmons and the SQC team is why we’re a foundation investor and continue to support the innovative work they’re doing,” Kim said.

Brendan Hopper, CBA Chief Information Officer for technology:

“As an early stage Investor in SQC, we can see the economic and business opportunities that could be opened up through the development of a locally-based quantum computing sector by a recognised Australian leader in this field. The work being done by Professor Simmons and her team is of national and international significance and we are proud to be supporting the next phase of SQC’s growth.”

Professor Attila Brungs, Vice-Chancellor and President of UNSW:

“SQC was spun out of world-leading research within the UNSW Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. The company is an exemplar of the quantum ecosystem at UNSW, in NSW and for the benefit of Australia.”