Blackbird hails government investment in PsiQuantum
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More news: Venture capital firm Blackbird has described the Albanese and Queensland governments' $940 billion investment in PsiQuantum as a "nation-building milestone".
Blackbird invested in PsiQuantum in 2021 as part of a US$450 million Series D round. The Australian Financial Review reports it has made additional investments since then.
What they said: Blackbird general partner Michael Tolo said the government investment is "a stunning nation-building milestone that entrenches our position as the global leader in quantum computing and shows the most ambitious founders around the world that Australia is the best place to scale critical technologies.
“This project creates a path for Australia to capture the economic benefit of research and talent that it has helped to nurture, and for our country to build unfair advantage in the many applications that utility-scale quantum computing will enable across materials science, physics and drug development.
Albanese and Qld govts to invest $1b to build first useful quantum computer
The news: The federal and Queensland government will invest almost $1 billion into frontier technology company PsiQuantum to build the world’s first fault tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane.
The numbers: The joint Commonwealth-Queensland investment includes approximately $470 million in equity and loans from each government and will create up to 400 local jobs.
The investment could lead to up to an additional $48 billion in GDP and 240,000 new jobs in Australia by 2040, according to Boston Consulting Group.
The context: The investment would allow PsiQuantum to:
- Establish its Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Brisbane;
- Build and operate successive generations of its fault tolerant quantum computer;
- Establish partnerships with the local quantum industry and advanced manufacturing clusters;
- Create a dedicated climate research centre;
- Open new digital and advanced tech supply chain opportunities; and
- Invest in university and research collaborations, including PhD positions, mentoring and internship opportunities.
The investment is part of the government’s future made in Australia plan and making Brisbane “a tech manufacturing powerhouse”.
In a joint release, the governments said Quantum computers were considered the next major development in computing as they had data processing power well beyond the capabilities of today’s supercomputers.
The processing power could help solve problems conventional computers could not and could help drive advances in areas such as new medicines, AI and the net zero transition.
What they said: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It takes great partnerships to build new industries. We need to make bold investments today if we want to see a Future Made in Australia.
“... This investment shows we are serious about building a strong quantum ecosystem here in Australia.”
Australia’s chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley said: “Quantum computing is a transformational and strategically important technology. It will disrupt all sectors of society. Australia is perfectly placed to achieve a globally significant quantum industry, but we can’t take a business-as-usual approach to realising this potential.
“We must take advantage of the quantum technology wave to reach the industry scale needed by attracting quantum companies to set up manufacturing here. This investment shows that Australia is serious about its quantum industry development by ensuring we are at the front of the pack in the global race to build the first useful quantum computer.”
The source: PMO media release
