Silicon Quantum Computing
Australian quantum computing company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd (SQC) is a Sydney, Australia-based quantum computing company.
| Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Quantum Computing |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
Key people | |
| Website | sqc |
The company develops quantum computers and analogue quantum devices using phosphorus atoms manufactured within silicon[1] using scanning tunnelling microscopes, an approach within the field of spin qubits.
Distinct from other companies within the spin qubits modality, SQC uses the nuclear spin of phosphorus atoms placed[2] within isotopically pure Si-28 wafers for quantum computation. Atoms used as qubits have demonstrated favourable performance indicators such as long coherence times[3] and biased noise.[4]
History
SQC was founded by Michelle Simmons in 2017.[5] She is recognised for her foundational contributions[6] to the field of atomic electronics. The company is chaired by Simon Segars[7] the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ARM Holdings PLC.
At incorporation, the company raised A$83 million from the Australian Federal Government, the New South Wales Government, the University of New South Wales, Telstra and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.[8]
Manufacturing and technology
SQC uses phosphorus atoms precision-placed within pure silicon (Si-28)[9][1] to create qubits. The company manufactures their own quantum computing chips (QPUs) with sub-nanometre (atom level) precision at their Sydney headquarters.[10]
Simmons' research group, prior to the incorporation of SQC, created the first single atom transistor in 2012.[11] SQC created the 3D atom transistor in 2019[12] and an integrated circuit made with atomic precision in 2022.[13]
Grover's algorithm is one of the two foundational quantum algorithms (alongside Shor's algorithm). Grover's algorithm runs quadratically faster than the best possible classical algorithm for the same task, a linear search, and so has significant commercial relevance for optimisation problems. In 2025, SQC announced results of running Grover's on one of their quantum computing systems and achieving 98.87%[14] of the theoretical maximum. This result was achieved without error correction.[15]
Products
SQC manufactures three products. Two application-specific processors within the family of quantum analogue processors[16] and one series of quantum computers.
- Quantum Machine Learning, "Watermelon"
- Molecular Simulation, "Quantum Twins" within the field of quantum chemistry and surface science
- Error corrected quantum computing processors, "Jalapeño"
In August 2025, Australian Defence announced the purchase of a QML processor[17] to be housed on-premises within their data environment.