From its humble beginnings as a promising quantum computing startup that spun out of UNSW, Sydney on a path to many millions of qubits, to its current status as a rising star in the field, Diraq has come a long way, having official launched as a company in May 2022. As the Company marks the end of 2023, we reflect on a successful year of growth, cutting-edge research breakthroughs and exciting milestones achieved, as we progress as a key player in the quantum technology landscape.

Diraq’s goal is to be a quantum computing provider that combines the value propositions of today’s chip manufacturers, cloud computing companies and software algorithm providers – accessing the annual full-scale fault tolerant quantum computing value pool, which is forecast to be in excess of US$500 billion within 15 years. Our technology, which works on an energy-efficient basis, is designed to be smaller, cheaper and able to perform useful calculations (which require many millions of qubits).

Diraq's CEO and Founder, Australian Laureate Fellow and UNSW Scientia Professor, Andrew Dzurak, couldn't be more proud of the progress the Company has made in 2023. "It's been a truly remarkable year of growth and discovery for the Diraq team," said Dzurak. “Our achievements in quantum technology research, coupled with our expanding team, are laying the foundation for an extraordinary journey ahead.”

A pivotal moment in Diraq's evolution came with the appointment of industry veteran Dr William (Bill) Jeffrey as Chairman. With decades of experience in technology and business leadership in his roles as President and CEO of HRL Laboratories and SRI International, and Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Jeffrey has been instrumental in steering the company towards new horizons. 

In addition to Jeffrey, Diraq has strengthened its world-leading team with a number of new hires across both the technical and commercial teams. As a result, the team has grown to over twenty staff and a dozen PhD students, with more to come! Collectively, the highly skilled team have enhanced the Company's capabilities and reinforced its reputation as an emerging leader in the quantum computing community.

Earlier this year, Dr. Kok Wai Chan, Fabrication and Process Engineer, was awarded the prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Mid-Career Industry Fellowship. Dr. Chan's funded project aims to couple qubits on different chips fabricated in the same package using flip chip technology, with the goal of demonstrating ways to scale up Diraq's quantum processing units. This recognition underscores the impressive efforts undertaken Kok Wai and the team at Diraq, and represents another step in the pursuit of a full-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer.

Diraq's research endeavours have been nothing short of groundbreaking over the last twelve months. The company has published a number of exciting papers, including three papers related to the implementation of an advanced dressing protocol for global qubit control in silicon, known as the SMART protocol. The team also developed a new spin control method, to precisely control single electrons nestled in quantum dots that run logic gates. The paper which was published in Nature Nanotechnology brings the reality of large-scale silicon quantum computers closer. 

Diraq's technological advancements have garnered significant recognition, as evidenced by the success of several recent grant proposals, with the Company receiving over $6 million in funding for the implementation of commercial projects, including delivery of a 10-qubit silicon quantum processor. This includes securing a $3 million grant from the Australian Commonwealth Government's industry-led Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) initiative, as well as an additional $3 million grant from the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer (OCSE) in Investment NSW’s one-off Quantum Computing Commercialisation Fund (QCCF).

Building on the momentum of a separate $3.8 million ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship grant awarded to Scientia Professor Alexander Hamilton at UNSW Sydney, with Diraq as the industry sponsor, these grants exemplify Australia's strategic and financial commitment to the high-potential technological field of quantum computing. In line with the recently launched Australian National Quantum Strategy, Diraq is committed to supporting Australia's position as a leader in quantum technology. 

The company's dedication to advancing quantum computing is complemented by the strategic framework provided by the Strategy delivered by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR). This dedication is being recognised, with Diraq being nominated in the InnovationAus awards for the Defence, Dual-Use Tech & Space Award and the Translation Hero categories, and Andrew Dzurak winning the 2023 AmCham Australia Alliance Award for Quantum Technology.

Collaboration and community engagement have been vital components of Diraq's growth strategy. The company has maintained a strong presence at industry events and conferences connecting with experts and contributing to the local and international dialogue on quantum technology, including as a founding member of the Tech Council of Australia’s Australian Quantum Alliance (AQA), and a strong supporter of the Sydney Quantum Academy (SQA), where CEO Andrew Dzurak delivered a keynote address at the Quantum Australia 2023 conference. Diraq successfully completed and graduated from the Creative Destruction Lab Toronto program, with Andrew Dzurak joining the recently launched CDL Melbourne program as a mentor. 

Following the Quantum Australia Conference, the technical team headed to Kyoto, Japan to attend the Silicon Quantum Electronics Workshop. Diraq was delighted to be a part of the inaugural SXSW Sydney, where Diraq held a ’Painting with Qubits’ activation at NSW House, and Andrew Dzurak spoke on the Quantum’s Global Outlook panel along with Main Sequence Venture’s Bill Bartee and UNSW, Sydney’s Maja Cassidy. 

At its core, Diraq believes that for fault-tolerant quantum computing that delivers commercially viable solutions to become a reality, the quantum computing community will need to collaborate and work together to push the boundaries of innovation and explore the full potential of this exciting field. Over the past year, Diraq has fostered strong partnerships with peers, colleagues, and researchers both locally and internationally, and is excited for the collaborations that lie ahead.

As Diraq leaps into the new year, the future looks incredibly bright for this trailblazing Australian quantum computing startup. With a globally recognised team who are delivering revolutionary research and a robust presence in the global quantum community, Diraq is poised to lead the charge into a quantum-powered future.

What a big year it’s been. Here's to many more years of adventure, innovation, and success!

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