Quantum Australia claims 4.5x return on public funding

Quantum Australia has reported more than AUD $56 million in industry-linked research activity over what it described as its first 18 months of operation, alongside 78 partnerships between companies and research groups.

It said it had converted just over AUD $12 million in public funding into the larger research total, which it framed as a 4.5x return on public investment.

Quantum Australia was established as a national centre to drive quantum industry growth, backed by the Australian Government, state governments and university partners.

The update offers a snapshot of Australia's effort to turn its strong research position in quantum science into commercial projects. It comes as governments worldwide push to build domestic capability in computing, sensing and communications using quantum technologies.

Partnership pipeline

The 78 industry-research partnerships focus on practical use cases in what Quantum Australia described as priority sectors. It did not list the full set of partners or projects, but pointed to a range of applications under development.

These include drug discovery and cancer diagnostics, as well as optimisation problems common in large industrial operations. Examples included electricity grid balancing, freight scheduling and solar-cell restoration.

Quantum Australia also reported six new quantum startups, with more expected. It said the ventures span the quantum technology stack, from software to hardware and devices.

Economic claims

Quantum Australia linked its activity to broader forecasts about the economic impact of quantum adoption. It cited independent modelling that it said suggests quantum adoption could add trillions of dollars to the global economy and around AUD $6.1 billion to Australia's GDP by 2045 when applied across critical industries.

It said Australia is entering a new phase with established credentials, describing a national ecosystem of 26 research organisations, more than 44 quantum startups and a top-five global quantum workforce.

Quantum Australia also pointed to public investment it said underpins that base. It said Australia led the developed world in government quantum investment from 2020 to 2024, and has invested around AUD $2.4 billion in quantum research over the past two decades across government and Centres of Excellence.

Policy backdrop

Australia's National Quantum Strategy, launched in 2023, set an ambition for the country to become a global quantum industry leader by 2030. Separately, the National Reconstruction Fund has invested AUD $20 million in Diraq, a company working on silicon-based quantum processors.

Quantum Australia's work includes startup development through programmes called NewQ and NextQ. It said NewQ acts as a pre-accelerator, supporting business model validation, industry engagement and commercial readiness.

It said both programmes use structured mentorship and introductions to industry partners, alongside tailored capability building for early-stage teams moving from lab-based research to commercial products.

Financial services example

The update also highlighted financial services as an area where quantum methods are starting to appear in day-to-day business settings. It pointed to HSBC as an example of a large institution trialling quantum computing approaches.

It cited a 2025 HSBC-IBM trial of quantum-enhanced algorithmic bond trading, which Quantum Australia said delivered up to a 34 per cent improvement in predicting trade outcomes compared with traditional methods.

HSBC Group Head of Quantum Technologies Philip Intallura is scheduled to travel from the UK to speak at the Quantum Australia Conference 2026 in Adelaide.

Quantum Australia CEO Petra Andrén said the organisation's remit is tied to economic outcomes as much as research results.

"The role of Quantum Australia is to ensure our nation's investment in quantum translates into real economic outcomes, not just scientific excellence, and our community of practice is the mechanism that enables this translation," Andrén said.

She described an active network of more than 4,000 people across industry, research, government and investment, aimed at coordinating work on defined problems.

"So our focus is therefore on building the interface between deep research capability and industry demand so those opportunities can be realised at scale," said Andrén.