Petra Andrén, CEO of Quantum Australia with Japanese gov. delegation

⁠Group shot of 6 new ventures from Quantum Australia NextQ program

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, August 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- New independent modelling has been released that shows Quantum Australia's national programs have created $83.1 million in economic value while supporting more than six times the public investment in economy-wide activity.

This figure, calculated by independent consultancy Avant Group as net present value over five years, spans grant and industry funding mobilised, private investment leveraged, and commercial contracts signåed through Quantum Australia programs in just two years.

Further data also revealed Quantum Australia has also helped create 15 new quantum companies, established 110 industry-research partnerships, and facilitated over $50 million in grant funding for quantum use-cases across critical industries.

The figures were released during Australia's first national quantum startup showcase, the Quantum Australia Showcase, held at New Parliament House in Canberra to demonstrate how national coordination is accelerating the commercialisation and adoption of Australian quantum technologies.

The showcase brought together organisations and leaders from across Australia's quantum ecosystem, including researchers, industry, investors, government, and end users from a broad range of critical industries.

As part of the event, six early-stage quantum ventures from those programs showcased their investment-ready technologies with the potential to transform healthcare, logistics, critical infrastructure, secure communications, and quantum computing:

- FeBI Technologies uses quantum sensing to give clinicians an accurate, low-cost measure of a patient's true iron status.

- QFactorial cuts kilometres, fuel, and operating costs for freight, logistics, and mining operators.

- SpaceCoLAB has built a briefcase-sized system that sends data as quantum states, so any interception collapses the link and triggers an alert.

- Quantum Lock gives operators of critical infrastructure, from power stations to satellites, a way to prove whether a device has been tampered with.

- Gridstate builds a plug-and-play module that helps photonic quantum computers correct errors fast enough to run reliably at scale.

- Cirnetiq builds specialised amplifiers that boost the extremely faint signals inside quantum computers and other sensitive equipment, so they can be read clearly.

The showcase was attended by a Japanese delegation following the recent signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between Australia and Japan, creating a framework for closer collaboration in quantum research, innovation, talent, and commercialisation.

It also coincided with Quantum Australia revealing a new team based in Canberra at the Australian National University, strengthening its presence in the nation’s capital as it continues to coordinate quantum activity across states and territories.

The clear sector growth and commercial returns from public quantum funding shows the national investment in quantum is beginning to convert research strength into economic activity, according to Quantum Australia.

Petra Andrén, CEO of Quantum Australia, said: "Quantum Australia exists to connect researchers, entrepreneurs, industry, end-users, investors, and government to turn world-class science into ventures with the potential to solve real-world problems. Today we're seeing that investment begins to deliver measurable economic returns.

“These six companies are the result of over two years of building Australia's quantum innovation pipeline. As a result, Australian quantum research is becoming Australian quantum companies, developing technologies for healthcare, critical infrastructure, logistics, and computing to solve real-world problems.

“The next challenge is maintaining that momentum through continued national coordination and sustained investment ensuring these companies can scale in Australia, create jobs here, and compete globally.”

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Quantum Australia (www.quantum-australia.com) is Australia’s national centre for quantum industry growth established to help deliver on Australia’s quantum strategy. It champions Australian quantum capability by creating a pipeline of new ventures, diverse talent, and real-world use cases, supporting and promoting quantum interests on the global stage. Backed by the Australian Government, state governments, and university partners, it connects and coordinates activity across the ecosystem, bridging world-class research and commercial success.

Appendix:

Quantum Australia’s performance over two years:

- A realised return of $2.15 in direct benefits for every $1 invested, and up to $6.87 once flow-on effects are counted

- Over $56 million in industry-linked research

- 110 industry-research partnerships formed

- 15 new quantum startups established and supported through Quantum Australia programs, up from six just five months ago

- 50 funded projects drawn from 66 supported use cases

- a national community of practice of 4,100 people formed across industry, research, government, and investment sectors

- 41 international organisations exploring an Australian presence to access the network

Australia's quantum industry + policy & international context:

- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: In July 2026, Australia and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Quantum Science, Technology and Innovation, spanning research, commercialisation, investment, skills, supply chains, and security.

- Austrade: The Australian and Queensland governments have committed $940 million to build the world's first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer, being developed by PsiQuantum in Brisbane.

- Australian Quantum Technology Industry Capability Report: Australia is home to over 40 quantum-related businesses, 26 dedicated quantum research organisations, and over 60 academic research groups, and ranks fifth in the world for quantum talent capacity.

- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia's National Quantum Strategy, released in May 2023, targets making Australia a global leader in quantum technology by 2030.

Source of quantum case studies:

The six early-stage startups that presented during the showcase were sourced from the inaugural cohort of Quantum Australia’s NextQ program.

This program supports new quantum ventures in their transition from technical validation to commercial and investor readiness in a structured 20-week startup accelerator providing project funding.

It builds on Quantum Australia’s pre-accelerator program, NewQ, focused on market validation (startups QFactorial and Quantum Lock progressed from NewQ into NextQ).

Priyanka Dogra
Third Hemisphere
+61 410 593 587
quantumaustralia@thirdhemisphere.agency