Australian quantum computing firmware startup Q-CTRL Pty. Ltd. is looking to expand into the emerging area of quantum sensing after receiving a fresh cash injection today.

The company has closed on a $25 million Series B round of funding led by Airbus Ventures, with participation from a range of existing syndicate members including new investor Ridgeline Partners.

Q-CTRL is an interesting startup that was originally trying to tackle the problem of reliability in quantum computing. It doesn’t build quantum computers itself, but it makes software that helps to stabilize the existing quantum computers being built by other companies.

The problem with today’s quantum computers is they’re so fragile that they must be kept in isolated containers in temperatures close to absolute zero. Even then, most systems are only capable of running for short periods of time before errors in their calculations begin to occur.

That’s because of the inherently unstable nature of qubits – the quantum bits – that power quantum computers. A qubit can be set not just to one or zero like a traditional bit but also to both simultaneously, which means it has an extra value to work with when performing calculations. These extra values add up so quickly across an entire system that it’s believed quantum computers could one day surpass the power of even the largest modern supercomputers.

Q-CTRL provides software that helps quantum computer engineers stabilize qubits. The software works by visualizing processing errors in sleek dashboards reminiscent of those that a business analyst might create to present their company’s latest sales figures.

Naturally, Q-CTRL’s dashboards are more complex, detailing technical data about the root causes of a problem and featuring controls that help engineers to reprogram their quantum computer’s circuitry to correct for errors. Recent demonstrations have shown that Q-CTRL’s software can improve the performance of quantum algorithms executed by qubits by greater than 25 times.

Similarly, Q-CTRL’s software can be applied to something called quantum sensing, which relies on the fragility of quantum computing hardware to take measurements that are imperceptible to any other kind of sensor.

Q-CTRL founder and Chief Executive Prof. Michael Biercuk told SiliconANGLE that in many ways, quantum sensing is more exciting than quantum computing because it’s a new capability that involves more than just information processing. He explained how quantum sensors work by exploiting the extreme sensitivity of quantum devices to detect smaller signals from greater distances.

It’s a technology that has potential in many fields, he said. For example, quantum sensors can be used to take extremely precise measurements of underground water sources, or to monitor space weather or even navigate anywhere on Earth without a global positioning system.

“Some of the early identified quantum sensing applications include deployment for measuring tiny magnetic fields or detecting changes in gravity,” Biercuk said. “These sound pretty esoteric but underpin some exceptionally large established markets such as mining, earth observation and navigation for autonomous vehicles or in space where there is no GPS.”

Biercuk added that quantum sensors provide big advantages over traditional sensors in terms of sensitivity and stability. Of course, quantum sensors are vulnerable to the same fragility as quantum computers are — and that’s where Q-CTRL’s core competency comes into play. He said the company’s quantum sensors are based on trapped-atom technology and augmented by its quantum control software.

“Adding quantum control can help extract more useful information from quantum sensing hardware even in the presence of interference,” he promised. “Quantum sensing gives us a totally new set of eyes to see the Earth using gravity and magnetism.”

Q-CTRL is going after a big market with its quantum sensors. Biercuk said remote sensing is expected to become a $300 billion industry and that quantum sensing technology is poised to dominate in the high-performance end of the market.

Q-CTRL’s plan to capture that market will involve creating new data-as-a-service offerings related to quantum sensing for acceleration, gravity and magnetic fields, among other areas. That’s what today’s funding is for, Biercuk said. The company already has a number of high-profile quantum sensing customers, including the Australian Department of Defence, the Australian Space Agency and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory based in Melbourne, Australia.

In addition, Q-CTRL hopes to advance the capabilities of its core quantum control infrastructure software.

“Q-CTRL’s vision has always been to enable all applications of quantum technology, and this new fund raise accelerates our mission to deliver real value to the space, defense and commercial sectors,” Biercuk added.

Photo: Q-CTRL