Q-CTRL raises $290 million in Salesforce Ventures-led round
The Australian quantum technology company plans to improve its software and expand internationally after the Series C round, which valued it at more than $1 billion.
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Q-CTRL has raised $290 million in an oversubscribed Series C funding round led by Salesforce Ventures. The Australian company sells quantum navigation systems and software for quantum computers.
SiliconANGLE said the round valued Q-CTRL at more than $1 billion. Q-CTRL said Bullhound Capital and Affinity Partners made significant contributions; AMD Ventures also participated. Michael J. Biercuk founded the company in 2017 and is its chief executive.
Navigation and quantum software
Q-CTRL’s Ironstone Opal navigation systems use quantum magnetometers and quantum gravimeters that measure variations in Earth’s magnetic field and gravity to help locate a vehicle. Software filters faulty measurements, combines the remaining data with readings from other sensors and compares them with preloaded maps.
Q-CTRL says the system works without GPS and resists jamming and spoofing, or the transmission of false signals. The company claims its software enables its sensors to perform 100 times better in the field than the best alternative. It says the technology is being deployed on commercial aircraft with Airbus, in autonomous platforms with Lockheed Martin and on unmanned drones.
The company’s Boulder Opal software helps researchers calibrate qubits, the units used by quantum computers to process information, to optimize their performance. Its Fire Opal software is designed to make quantum algorithms less prone to errors.
Salesforce Ventures partner Robert Keith said obtaining useful output from quantum machines is the central challenge and that Q-CTRL’s superintelligence (SI)-powered control software was the reason his firm led the round. As evidence, he cited a materials simulation on IBM hardware accessible through the IBM Quantum Platform and what he described as the first quantum navigation system qualified for safety of flight.
Plans for expansion
Q-CTRL plans to use the funding to improve its software and expand internationally. It says it will seek to meet demand in sectors including finance and energy while continuing its autonomy and aerospace programs.
New investor MPower Partners expects to help expand Q-CTRL’s presence in Japan, citing industrial demand and government commitment there.
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