Quantum sensing start-up DeteQt has secured $750,000 in pre-seed funding from Main Sequence Ventures and US investor ATP Fund for its ‘diamond-on-silicon’ approach.
Using the company’s approach, DeteQt is developing highly sensitive, portable, and scalable quantum magnetometers with applications spanning GPS-denied navigation, critical mineral detection, and portable medical imaging.
DeteQt’s quantum sensors provide an entirely new paradigm, integrating nitrogen-vacancy diamond technology with traditional silicon chip fabrication.
The company says it ensures its sensors are not only highly sensitive but also low-cost, scalable, and manufacturable at volume.
DeteQt’s CEO and University of Sydney Adjunct Professor Jim Rabeau, says the technology is designed to address some of the world’s biggest challenges, including more effective critical mineral exploration.
“By integrating quantum sensors with scalable semiconductor processes, we’re delivering the sensitivity of quantum with the manufacturability and low-cost of silicon,” the CEO says.
DeteQt is a spin-out from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and has attracted interest from domestic and international partners in those sectors.
Rabeau will be announcing the investment at this week’s Quantum Australia Conference, held between 25-27 March, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Rabeau’s career spans leadership roles at Microsoft’s quantum computing program, Deloitte, CSIRO and, more recently, as president of the Australian arm of US-based quantum company Infleqtion.
The CEO intends to tell the conference the DeteQt is a “strong example of how Australia’s quantum investment is driving real-world impact — translating world-class research into a commercially viable deep-tech companies addressing critical market needs”.
In 2023, the Australian Government released the National Quantum Strategy, boosting the ambitions started with the $70 million investment in the Sydney Quantum Academy and later the $18.4 million investment in Quantum Australia, a growth centre aimed at fostering collaboration between researchers, startups, and industry.
DeteQt has secured partnerships in Australia and the US in its early stage, including a $3 million contract with the Australian Defence Force, with Fleet Space Technologies and US partner OneScan.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: DeteQt
