The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) recently announced the launch of the Australian Quantum Alliance (AQA), a major new group that will serve as the voice of the country’s quantum industry.
Established under the auspices of the TCA in collaboration with local and global leaders in the industry, the AQA is intended to recognise the need to have a single industry group to work with governments on a range of policy issues impacting the sector.
The alliance’s founding members include local companies Quintessence Labs, Q-CTRL, Quantum Brilliance, Silicon Quantum Computing, Nomad Atomics and Diraq, and world-leading global companies Google, Microsoft and Rigetti.
According to research released by TCA, the quantum sector is one of Australia’s most high-potential emerging sectors. Over 3 per cent of global quantum startups originate in Australia, compared to 1.7 per cent of startups on average.
The TCA report also noted that Australia is attracting 3.6 per cent of all global venture capital investment in the quantum industry.
“With the prowess of the TCA, we hope to collectively drive the development of a vibrant quantum industry, provide guidance to the government on the development of the industry, help corporate decision makers understand and adopt quantum technology, and build strong domestic and international partnerships for the greatest national benefit to Australia,” said Vikram Sharma, founder and CEO of the QuintessenceLabs.
“Australia is leading the world in quantum research. Now we need to lead in commercialising that research by creating, scaling and attracting world-leading quantum companies in Australia. The AQA will help ensure that Australia maintains its head start in the global quantum race,” Kate Pounder, CEO of TCA said.
