INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As hardware makers continue to work on ways of making wide-scale quantum computing a reality, a startup out of Australia that is building
software to help reduce noise and errors on quantum computing machines has raised a round of funding to fuel its United States
expansion.Q-CTRL is designing firmware for computers and other machines (such as quantum sensors) that perform quantum calculations,
firmware to identify the potential for errors to make the machines more resistant and able to stay working for longer (the Q in its name is
a reference to qubits, the basic building block of quantum computing).The startup is today announcing that it has raised $15 million, money
that it plans to use to double its team (currently numbering 25) and set up shop on the West Coast, specifically Los Angeles.This Series A
technology.The problem that Q-CTRL is aiming to address is basic but arguably critical to solving if quantum computing ever hopes to make
the leap out of the lab and into wider use in the real world.Quantum computers and other machines like quantum sensors, which are built on
quantum physics architecture, are able to perform computations that go well beyond what can be done by normal computers today, with the
applications for such technology including cryptography, biosciences, advanced geological exploration and much more
But quantum computing machines are known to be unstable, in part because of the fragility of the quantum state, which introduces a lot of
noise and subsequent errors, which results in crashes.As Frederic pointed out recently, scientists are confident that this is ultimately a
Q-CTRL is one of the hopefuls working on that, by providing a set of tools that runs on quantum machines, visualises noise and decoherence
users/algorithm developers.Q-CTRL was founded in 2017 by Michael Biercuk, a professor of Quantum Physics - Quantum Technology at the
University of Sydney and a chief investigator in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, who
Los Angeles for building out a United States presence, you might ask? Southern California, it turns out, has shaped up to be a key area for
quantum research and development, with several of the universities in the region building out labs dedicated to the area, and companies like
Lockheed Martin and Google also contributing to the ecosystem
This means a strong pipeline of talent and conversation in what is still a nascent area.Given that it is still early days for quantum
computing technology, that gives a lot of potential options to a company like Q-CTRL longer-term: The company might continue to build a
business as it does today, selling its technology to a plethora of hardware makers and researchers in the field; or it might get snapped up
Q-CTRL we found a rare combination of world-leading technical expertise with an understanding of customers, products and what it takes to