By Dan O’Shea posted 12 Feb 2024
Diraq, a Sydney, Australia, start-up that is among the firms leveraging traditional silicon-based processor techniques for quantum computing, has raised USD $15 million in a Series A-2 funding round led by quantum specialist venture capital fund Quantonation, bringing Diraq’s total funding to $120 million.
The company has been around since at least 2021 but has more than a decade of research behind it in the area of leveraging spins in silicon-based quantum dots for better qubit control, fidelity, and error correction.
The new funds will help Diraq continue to advance its research and development initiatives and commercial efforts, including growing its U.S. presence, the company said.
In addition to Quantonation, other investors in the most recent funding included Higgins Family Investments and the University of New South Wales, Sydney. The A-2 batch of funding is an extension of Diraq’s previously announced Series A round of USD $20 million, which was led by technology investor Allectus Capital. Diraq also has earned grants from Australian and U.S. government programs.
“This new funding will be used to expand our talented team in Australia and launch in the U.S. as well as capitalize on our existing international partnerships,” said Andrew Dzurak, CEO and founder of Diraq, who appeared on IQT’s Quantum Tech Pod, Episode 46, last year. “To see useful quantum computing deployed cost-efficiently in a commercial timeframe will require billions of qubits. We are working closely with our foundry partners to drive qubit development based on tried and tested CMOS techniques and our proprietary designs. We are focused on delivering energy-efficient processors with billions of qubits on one chip contained in one refrigerator, rather than thousands of chips and refrigerators requiring hundreds of square meters of space in a warehouse.”
“We are excited to lead Diraq’s Series A-2 round as the company continues to evolve as a key player in the global silicon quantum ecosystem,” said Will Zeng, a Quantonation partner who will join Diraq’s board. “The primary technical focus in the next 18 months will be on developing a device through a standard semiconductor foundry. This milestone will serve as a proof point, solidifying the viability of Diraq’s technology and propelling the company’s ambitious scale-up program aimed at constructing the most powerful quantum computers in the world.”
“This funding round shows international recognition of our capabilities and potential impact,” said Diraq’s U.S.-based chairman, the Hon. William Jeffrey, former Director of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “There is a key advantage to our technology which is based on modified transistors – the same components that fuel the digital world and are integral to our daily lives. As one of the few global companies pursuing the ambitious goal of achieving millions of qubits on a single chip, we can leverage over 50 years and trillions of dollars of investment in the semiconductor industry.”
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics, including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments, and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.
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- Source: https://www.insidequantumtechnology.com/news-archive/diraq-lands-15m-funding-extension-led-by-quantonation/
