Quantum Brilliance Raises $9.7 Million Seed Funding to Advance Diamond Quantum Accelerator Development and Deployment

Quantum Brilliance, a venture-backed Australian-German full-stack quantum accelerator startup, today announced closing a USD$9.7 million seed investment co-led by the QxBranch founders’ and Main Sequence investment consortium.

Quantum Brilliance harnesses synthetic diamonds to build quantum accelerators that do not require near absolute zero temperature or complex laser systems to operate like mainframe quantum computers. Quantum Brilliance is one of only a few companies worldwide already able to deliver quantum computing systems for customers to operate on-site today.

The company was spun out in 2019 from The Australian National University’s leading research group in diamond quantum science. The co-founders invented novel fabrication techniques and processor architectures and have worked closely with innovative early adopters making their software products accessible for co-development.

“It is wonderful to see venture investments in breakthrough research commercialization spin-outs like Quantum Brilliance,” said ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt. “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.”

“We’ve had experience with companies developing technology quietly until their breakout and then reaching significant valuations on the global stage,” said Shaun Wilson, founder of QxBranch, Australia’s first quantum computing applications company, founded in 2014 and acquired by Rigetti in 2019. “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.”

“We’re excited to support the Australian quantum industry and visionary companies like Quantum Brilliance who have a unique approach to designing and building quantum accelerators at the edge,” said Bill Bartee, partner at Main Sequence Ventures.

Quantum Brilliance is actively hiring for 20 roles including VP of Engineering and scientists, physicists, software engineers and control engineers to support the research, development, engineering and production of the company’s quantum computing technology.

The company’s projected roadmap to provide quantum accelerators the size of a lunchbox with over 50 qubits by 2025 will greatly accelerate the adoption of useful quantum applications across a variety of sectors. Quantum accelerators can be deployed wherever classical computers are used such as satellites, vehicles, hospitals and robotic systems.

“We are tremendously appreciative of the trust our investors have in our capabilities to deliver on our R&D and go-to-market plans,” said CEO Andrew Horsley, Ph.D., one of three company co-founders that also includes Chief Scientific Officer Marcus Doherty, Ph.D., and COO Mark Luo.

The seed round also featured participation from CP Ventures, Investible, Jelix Ventures, MA Financial (formerly Moelis Australia) Growth Ventures Fund, R3I Ventures, and Ultratech Capital Partners.

About Quantum Brilliance

Founded in 2019, Quantum Brilliance is a venture-backed Australian-German quantum computing hardware company, providing diamond quantum accelerators supported by a full stack of software and application tools. Quantum Brilliance’s vision to enable mass deployment of quantum accelerators will propel industries to harness edge computing applications and next-generation supercomputers. Quantum Brilliance’s international partnerships extend into North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific, working with governments, supercomputing centres, research organisations and industry leaders.

About Main Sequence Ventures

Main Sequence is tackling the world’s biggest challenges by turning today’s scientific discoveries into tomorrow’s industries. It works closely with scientists, researchers, and industry collaborators to create, fund, and accelerate new companies and industries across health, food, space, transport, security, and deep tech to accelerate humanity for a more prosperous future.

Founded in Australia in 2017, Main Sequence manages the CSIRO Innovation Fund, founded by the Australian Government and the national science agency to reinvest its historic contributions into the successes of the future. Main Sequence Fund No.1 has invested in 26 companies that are changing the way healthcare is delivered, food is produced, space is commercialized and more.

About QxBranch founder’s investment consortium

Shaun Wilson is part of the QxBranch founders’ consortium representing serial entrepreneurs and former Macquarie Bankers investing in advancing Australia’s sovereign capabilities including quantum computing, space and defence innovations and critical minerals. Wilson is the founder of Shoal Group, one of Australia’s leading systems engineering companies. In 2014, he founded QxBranch, a quantum computing software and services spin-out from Shoal Group that secured major clients across a variety of industries worldwide. QxBranch was acquired by Rigetti Computing in 2019.

About the Australian National University

The Australian National University (ANU) is a national research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and institutes. It is ranked as the number one university in Australia and number one in the southern hemisphere by the 2021 QS World University Rankings. ANU counts six Nobel laureates and 49 Rhodes scholars among its faculty and alumni. The university has educated two prime ministers, 30 current Australian ambassadors and more than a dozen current heads of government departments of Australia.

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