NRF tips extra $40m into Silicon Quantum Computing
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The news: The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund has tripled its investment in Silicon Quantum Computing by committing an extra $40 million, marking the fund’s first follow-on investment in a portfolio company.
The context: Announced on Thursday morning, the extra funding adds to the original $20 million invested in the company in March through a SAFE note as part of an ongoing funding round for the UNSW quantum research spinout.
The additional $40 million investment has also been made in the form of a SAFE note and is part of the same ongoing funding round.
The federal government also previously became a shareholder in 2017 when it invested $25 million as part of SQC’s seed funding round and has committed additional funding in subsequent funding rounds.
Silicon Quantum Computing is using the funding to continue development of its novel atomic-scale manufacturing capability.
It is currently also progressing through the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative in pursuit of an extra USD300 million ($429 million) in funding.
What they said: SQC founder and CEO Michelle Simmons said: “NRFC’s continued investment is a strong endorsement of SQC and the globally unique semiconductor manufacturing capability we have developed here in Australia”.
Simmons also added that the “NRFC is an outstanding partner, and the additional investment puts us in an even stronger position to deliver”.
The NRF said in a LinkedIn post: “SQC is the only company in the world capable of manufacturing quantum chips with atomic precision while delivering quantum enhanced-AI products for enterprises and governments today.”
The sources: NRF website, SQC website
