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Q-CTRL is a technology company.
Q-CTRL provides AI-powered quantum infrastructure software, enhancing quantum computer and sensor performance and reliability. Its core offering utilizes advanced algorithms for quantum control, mitigating hardware errors and instability. These solutions enable robust operation of complex quantum systems, accelerating practical quantum technology applications.
Professor Michael J. Biercuk, Chief Executive Officer, founded Q-CTRL. As a Professor of Quantum Physics and Quantum Technology at the University of Sydney, Biercuk established the firm from the insight that precise control is vital to overcome quantum systems' fragility and unlock their potential. His academic expertise shaped the company’s direction.
Q-CTRL serves organizations and researchers advancing quantum computing and sensing. Its mission is to make quantum technology useful by resolving critical hardware performance bottlenecks. By stabilizing and optimizing quantum systems, Q-CTRL aims to propel the quantum industry forward, enabling practical quantum applications for diverse users.
Q-CTRL has raised $129.3M across 6 funding rounds.
Q-CTRL has raised $129.3M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Q-CTRL has raised $129.3M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Q-CTRL's investors include GP Bullhound, Acorn Capital, Ada Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Austin Walne, Battery Ventures, BBG Ventures, DCVC (Data Collective), Jenny Fielding, Hanaco Ventures, Hummingbird Ventures.
Q-CTRL is a quantum technology company founded in 2017 that builds infrastructure software to solve hardware errors and instability in quantum computing and sensing. Its products—such as Boulder Opal for R&D professionals, Fire Opal for algorithm designers boosting success rates up to 6X, and Black Opal for education—serve sectors like defense, aerospace, biotechnology, finance, cybersecurity, logistics, and research institutions.[1][2][3][6] By delivering AI-powered quantum control, error suppression, and firmware, Q-CTRL bridges the gap between noisy quantum hardware and practical utility, enabling larger problem sizes and accelerating quantum advantage timelines by up to 3 years.[3][6] With over 130 employees across Sydney, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Oxford, and $113M in Series B funding, the company drives performance gains like 5X reductions in training data needs via quantum machine learning.[3][6]
Q-CTRL emerged as the first spin-off from the University of Sydney’s Quantum Science group, founded by Professor Michael J. Biercuk, a quantum physicist leading the Quantum Control Laboratory within the Sydney Nanoscience Hub and ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems.[2][5] Biercuk’s research on reducing qubit errors—critical for scaling quantum devices—laid the foundation, with the company established in 2017 in Chippendale (Sydney), Australia, backed by global VCs like DCVC (first investment in 2018).[1][4][5] Early traction came from addressing quantum hardware's error susceptibility, positioning Q-CTRL as an enabler for entrepreneurs and technologists; pivotal moments include partnerships with IBM, defense agencies, and cloud providers like Google Cloud, alongside rapid growth to 35 employees by initial expansions and now over 130.[2][6]
Q-CTRL rides the quantum technology wave, a McKinsey-estimated $2T opportunity blocked by hardware noise, positioning itself as the control layer bridging quantum-classical divides.[3][5] Timing aligns with ramping quantum hardware from IBM and others, where error rates plague scalability—Q-CTRL's solutions enable practical advantage by 2028, influencing defense (MagNav in GPS-denied environments), geophysics, navigation, and enterprise computing.[3][6] Market forces like VC influx ($113M Series B) and partnerships amplify its role, defining the midstack for real-time control and sensor intelligence, much like electricity's 19th-century harnessers but for 21st-century info processing.[2][4][5][6]
Q-CTRL is primed to lead quantum infrastructure as hardware matures, with expansions in sensing deployments (e.g., aircraft/autonomous platforms) and computing error correction driving category dominance.[6] Trends like AI-quantum fusion and defense needs will shape growth, potentially evolving its influence toward full-stack quantum processors and widespread adoption in uncomputable problems from pharma to logistics.[3][5][7] As an early mover with Biercuk's research edge, expect accelerated partnerships and utility unlocks, fulfilling quantum's transformational promise from Sydney's labs to global ecosystems.[2][6]
Q-CTRL has raised $129.3M across 6 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $59.0M Series B in October 2024.