Australian-German startup Quantum Brilliance has raised $20 million in Series A funding to deploy small, portable quantum accelerators that promise to do just that Increase the computing power of data centers, robots and satellites.
A quantum accelerator is a special hardware unit that accelerates specific quantum algorithms or tasks. They act as co-processors of classical computers such as CPUs or GPUs and carry out certain quantum calculations.
Austrian deep-tech fund Main Sequence, In-Q-Tel (IQT) in the USA and Intervaley Ventures from Japan led the financing round. “It represents a significant advance as we advance the design, performance and manufacturability of diamond quantum devices,” said Mark Luo, CEO of Quantum Brilliance.
Founded in 2019, Quantum Brilliance uses diamonds in its accelerators, allowing them to operate at room temperature, unlike most quantum systems, which require supercooling. The result is quantum devices that are portable and energy efficient, making them particularly useful large-scale use in Edge devices.
“Diamond quantum technology holds great promise for the development of compact and robust quantum sensors and accelerators,” said Nat Puffer, Managing Director of IQT. “We believe this technology will play a critical role in addressing strategic challenges across industries and key national priorities.”
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Last year, Quantum Brilliance announced a strategic partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, home of Frontier World first Exascale supercomputers. The startup will install its diamond accelerators alongside the lab's high-performance computing (HPC) systems to explore the potential of combining quantum computing and classical computing.
Additionally, in September, the German cybersecurity agency awarded Quantum Brilliance a $15 million contract to deliver the world's first mobile quantum computer by 2027. A mobile quantum computer could perform complex calculations on-site instead of relying on data centers or cloud access.
Quantum computers are rewriting the rules of computing and harnessing the amazing magic of quantum physics to solve problems that normal machines cannot. Powered by qubits that can juggle multiple states simultaneously, they are designed to crack optimization puzzles, simulate complex systems and revolutionize encryption – all at breakneck speed.
Since then, there has been great interest in quantum computing Google presented an experimental machine that was able to solve a mathematical equation in five minutes that a conventional supercomputer couldn't do in 10 septillion years. The breakthrough brought the dream of quantum computing one step closer to reality. Nevertheless, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang was quick to do so Pour cold water on the hypeand warned at CES 2025 that practical quantum applications are still 15 to 30 years away.
