Australia's DARPA Victory: Two Local Quantum Companies Among Global Elite

When the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced in November 2025 which companies would advance to Stage B of its Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, Australia had reason to celebrate. Of the 11 companies selected from an initial field of 17, two are Australian: Diraq and Silicon Quantum Computing (SQC).

This isn't just a symbolic win. The QBI program aims to determine whether any quantum computing approach can achieve "utility-scale operation"—meaning a quantum computer whose computational value exceeds its cost to build and operate—by 2033. Selection for Stage B means DARPA's scientific experts believe these Australian approaches have a credible path to that goal.

The DARPA Quantum Benchmarking Initiative

DARPA's QBI is one of the most rigorous evaluation programs in quantum computing. Unlike typical government funding where companies simply receive grants, QBI puts quantum approaches through independent verification and validation. The goal isn't to pick winners—it's to honestly assess which technologies might actually deliver useful quantum computing within eight years.

The criteria are strict. DARPA isn't interested in impressive lab demonstrations that might never scale. They're looking for approaches that can actually be manufactured at scale, operated reliably, and deliver commercial value.

The Stage B Companies

Here are all 11 companies advancing to Stage B, spanning multiple qubit technologies:

Note that four different countries are represented: the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. And Australia is the only non-North American country with multiple companies selected—both using silicon-based approaches that leverage existing semiconductor manufacturing.

Diraq: Silicon Spin Qubits at Scale

Diraq's recent achievements are significant. In September 2025, they published results in Nature demonstrating that silicon spin qubits fabricated in a commercial foundry environment (with imec in Europe) achieved over 99% fidelity in two-qubit operations. This is a key threshold for quantum error correction—and crucially, it was achieved in a manufacturing setting, not just a university lab.

"Quantum computing becomes transformative when it addresses real-world challenges and generates genuine commercial returns. DARPA's QBI program is aligned with Diraq's vision: deploying systems that deliver far greater value than they cost to build and operate." — Professor Andrew Dzurak, Diraq CEO and Founder

Diraq's consortium partners for Stage B include Dell Technologies, Riverlane, Emergence Quantum, and the University of Technology Sydney's Centre for Quantum Software and Information. The Dell partnership is particularly significant—quantum computers need to integrate with classical computing infrastructure, and having a major server company involved addresses that challenge directly.

Silicon Quantum Computing: Precision Atom Qubits

SQC takes a different approach than Diraq while still using silicon. Rather than conventional CMOS fabrication, they use atomic-scale engineering to position individual phosphorus atoms in silicon. This gives them exceptional control over qubit properties, though it requires developing new manufacturing techniques.

Both Australian companies share a critical insight: silicon is the right material for scalable quantum computing because the semiconductor industry has spent 60 years perfecting silicon manufacturing. Why reinvent the wheel with exotic materials when you can build on existing infrastructure?

Why This Matters for Education

The success of Australian companies in DARPA's program has direct implications for educators and students:

For students considering quantum careers, the Australian presence in this program demonstrates that world-leading quantum work happens here—not just in Silicon Valley or Cambridge. Both Diraq and SQC are hiring, and their research pipelines create opportunities across universities, national labs, and industry partners.

The Broader Australian Quantum Picture

This DARPA success comes alongside other recent Australian quantum milestones:

• Quantum Brilliance's Diamond Foundry: Melbourne, November 2025—world's first commercial quantum diamond manufacturing facility
• Q-CTRL's $166M Series B: October 2024—largest funding round for a quantum software company globally
• PsiQuantum's Brisbane Facility: $940M government investment for fault-tolerant photonic quantum computing
• National Quantum Strategy: Targeting $6 billion industry value and 19,400 jobs by 2045

Australia is building quantum capability across multiple technology approaches: silicon spin qubits (Diraq), precision atoms (SQC), diamond NV centres (Quantum Brilliance), photonics (PsiQuantum), and quantum software (Q-CTRL). This diversity is a strength—no one knows which approach will ultimately dominate, and Australian researchers are competitive across several.

Looking Ahead: Stage C and Beyond

Stage B runs for approximately one year, during which DARPA will "scour their R&D plans to determine whether they can go the distance." Companies that pass will advance to Stage C, where independent verification teams will test actual hardware against benchmarks.

The 2033 target is ambitious—but that's the point. DARPA wants to know if useful quantum computers are really possible in the near term, not just as distant promises. Australian companies being part of that assessment puts local researchers at the frontier of answering that question.

For educators, this is a moment to highlight Australian quantum success and the career opportunities it creates. For students, it's evidence that the quantum industry isn't just a future possibility—it's being built right now, partly in Sydney.