The world's first room-temperature quantum computer is another step closer to commercial production after an Australian startup netted millions of dollars in seed funding.
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There are hopes the startup could become a billion-dollar company within five years and transform quantum computing.
Australian National University spin-off Quantum Brilliance uses synthetic diamonds to build quantum accelerators that don't require near-zero temperatures or complex laser systems to operate like other computers.
The lunchbox-sized invention is on the cusp of being the most powerful computer ever created after Quantum Brilliance secured $13 million in seed investment to push the project along.
"We are quietly confident Quantum Brilliance has all the foundations in place to be a globally significant company and to reshape the quantum computing industry," investor Shaun Wilson, founder of QxBranch, Australia's first quantum computing applications company, said on Thursday.
Quantum accelerators can be used wherever classical computers are, with applications in sectors such as health, finance and education.
They offer ultra-secure networks, artificial intelligence and are likely to be able to solve problems much faster than today's computers.
Quantum Brilliance is one of only a few companies worldwide already delivering quantum computing systems for customers to operate on-site.
The units use synthetic diamonds to develop quantum microprocessors with ultra-high computational power that customers can run themselves.
The company aims to produce lunchbox-sized accelerators with over 50 qubits of processing power available by 2025 for everyday use.
"It is wonderful to see venture investments in breakthrough research commercialisation spin-outs like Quantum Brilliance," ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said.
"If the university's goal to create a billion-dollar company in the next five years is to happen, it will be through these joint efforts."
Quantum machines process information in a different way from traditional computers, using the counterintuitive nature of quantum physics.
A qubit or quantum bit is the basic unit of quantum information and the quantum version of the classic binary bit.
Quantum Brilliance is a venture-backed Australian-German quantum computing hardware company founded in 2019.
The $13 million seed investment consortium was co-led by the QxBranch founders and Main Sequence.
Australian Associated Press
