Guest Post by Dr. Kris Naudts, Zeynep Koruturk and Donald Harmitt @ Firgun Ventures.
Firgun Ventures is a VC firm investing in Series A/B quantum scale-ups globally.
Australia’s quantum reputation has rested for a quarter of a century on world-leading quantum research talent, exemplified by the likes of Michelle Simmons, CEO of Firgun Ventures’ portfolio quantum computing company Silicon Quantum Computing, who was awarded Australian of the Year in 2018. Australia is now attempting to solidify its stronghold within something deep tech typically finds difficult: large-scale commercialisation. The shift changes what success looks like, and the country is no longer content to produce just excellent physics. Australia wants to produce companies, supply chains and exportable capability, and is prepared to put public capital directly behind this.
The ambition was formalised in the 2023 National Quantum Strategy, which set the goal of making Australia a global quantum leader by 2030. The numbers are substantial to say the least. More than $1.6 billion in sustained public investment has given the country the world’s fifth largest quantum workforce, over 40 companies spanning sensing, communications and computing, and 26 specialised research institutions. What distinguishes the approach is less the scale of spending than its shape. Rather than concentrating on a single technological pathway, Australia is cultivating domain breadth, and rather than funding research and stepping back, the government is increasingly acting as a direct equity investor.
