A La Trobe University research partnership developing quantum technologies will receive a significant boost through Breakthrough Victoria's push to establish Victoria as a global player in this rapidly evolving sector.
Breakthrough Victoria, an investment company established by the Victorian Government to drive innovation in Victoria, will invest $8 million in Australian company Quantum Brilliance.
Victorian Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll today made the announcement while inspecting the quantum materials laboratory at La Trobe University, where Quantum Brilliance has a joint research collaboration with La Trobe and RMIT universities.
Breakthrough Victoria CEO Grant Dooley said that by investing in companies like Quantum Brilliance, the organisation was building the framework for Victoria to be a global player in the revolution of quantum technologies.
"Our investments will accelerate research, development and commercialisation of quantum technologies, which will attract global companies and increase investment and jobs in Victoria," said Grant Dooley.
La Trobe Pro Vice-Chancellor (Graduate and Global Research) Professor Chris Pakes welcomed the funding announcement.
"We are thrilled to see Quantum Brilliance expanding its operations in Victoria and look forward to continuing to support its R&D program," Professor Pakes said.
"Colleagues across several institutions in Melbourne are undertaking world-leading science and materials engineering focused on the development of diamond for quantum computing and sensing.
"This investment will provide an opportunity to further leverage the talent and resources within this ecosystem to support the development of Quantum Brilliance's technology," Professor Pakes said.
Quantum computing is a rapidly emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers. It has the potential to disrupt established business models and industries and enable significant breakthroughs on global problems.
Founded by diamond quantum scientists at Australian National University (ANU) in 2019, Quantum Brilliance has developed the first portable quantum computer that operates at room temperature.
Quantum computing typically requires temperatures below zero degrees Celsius and expensive full stack computer systems, making it difficult to rollout the technology into smaller and more portable technology.
Quantum Brilliance has addressed this challenge by using the crystalline structure of diamonds as an insulator against noise and temperature.
This allows their smaller quantum computer to sit alongside classical computing systems as an accelerator for faster and more advanced computing, or as an edge computing device to connect and control the flow of data between networks.
This innovation means the company's diamond quantum computing technology is better suited for use in real world situations like medical imaging, satellite technology and robotics than other technology solutions.
Breakthrough Victoria's investment in Quantum Brilliance will support the company to expand its Melbourne operations and its extensive research partnerships with several Victorian universities.
The investment in Quantum Brilliance follows Breakthrough Victoria's $29 million investment in US-based global quantum leader Infleqtion (formerly ColdQuanta) in 2022, with the company to establish an Asia-Pacific quantum computing and technology centre at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
Image (left to right): Grant Dooley (Breakthrough Victoria), Dr Marcus Doherty (Quantum Brilliance), Professor John Dewar (La Trobe), Minister Ben Carroll and Professor Chris Pakes (La Trobe)
