🕵️ Quantum Psi-ops
What if the $1 billion PsiQuantum deal had less to do with supporting innovation and more to do with national security?
The Albanese government’s decision last week to hand almost $1 billion to a single quantum computing company based in the US (albeit one with two Australian founders) has been the talk of startup circles ever since it was unveiled. And one week on, there are still more questions than answers.
But there is a chance that this investment is being misinterpreted. It may be less about building a national champion in an emerging high-growth sector or generating jobs, and more about national security, than has so far been articulated.
Quantum computing, best succinctly described as exponentially more powerful computing, is a key defence focus for many governments around the world, including Australia. A New York Times story last year highlighted Australia's world-beating credentials in quantum computing (which we have also covered) and the technology's importance to the US and its allies.
The Australian government has not hidden the fact that the technology is a strategic priority — the use of quantum technologies in military capabilities was named in a joint statement following a meeting of AUKUS defence ministers last December. While it's AI that is currently the subject of an arms race between China and the US, quantum computing could be just as much of an opportunity and threat for the countries that can develop it and their rivals.
