Iceberg Quantum secures $2m & partners with PsiQuantum

Iceberg Quantum, a quantum computing architecture startup based in Sydney, has announced that it has secured $2 million in pre-seed funding and has established a significant partnership with PsiQuantum.

The funding round was led by Blackbird, with contributions from UK-based LocalGlobe. Iceberg Quantum aims to utilise these funds to advance its work on developing fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures that demand significantly less hardware overhead.

The company was founded by Felix Thomsen, Larry Cohen, and Sam Smith, all of whom are PhD alumni of the University of Sydney. Under the guidance of Prof. Stephen Bartlett, a well-regarded expert in quantum error correction, they formed the basis of Iceberg Quantum's approach which seeks to reduce the qubits needed for quantum error correction.

Michael Tolo, Partner at Blackbird, remarked, "We are fast-approaching the useful quantum computing era and are proud to see Australians leading the charge. Since the announcement that Brisbane will host the world's first useful quantum computer, we have seen the next generation of local research talent emerge with the ambition to leave their mark."

"The technical progress that Felix, Larry and Sam have made over the last six months shows us that their approach could accelerate the timeline to useful quantum computing and push these systems to perform more valuable tasks, sooner. We had the privilege of watching the team grow since participating in our Foundry program last year, before the company had even been incorporated. We invest behind unique insights and velocity of progress, and this team has both in spades."

PsiQuantum, a corporation working towards developing a utility-scale quantum computer by 2027 in Brisbane, has identified the potential of Iceberg Quantum's approach and formed a partnership to collaborate on fault-tolerant architectures.

Prof. Terry Rudolph, co-founder and Chief Architect at PsiQuantum, stated, "Australia has long been a global leader in fault-tolerant quantum architectures, setting the direction for the field. Its next generation of talent will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of quantum computing."

"PsiQuantum is proud to partner with Iceberg Quantum, emerging from the world-leading group at the University of Sydney, to advance quantum theory and fault tolerance. Bridging cutting-edge research with real-world quantum systems is critical, and we look forward to seeing how this collaboration drives the next generation of fault-tolerant quantum architectures - including at our Brisbane facility."

Iceberg Quantum plans to employ its new resources to cultivate a team dedicated to designing architectures based on low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. This strategy is intended to lessen the computational load traditionally required for fault correction and accelerate the fruition of useful quantum computing applications.

Felix Thomsen, co-founder and CEO of Iceberg Quantum, commented, "Quantum computing has seen some exciting progress recently, but there's still a lot of work to do to realise the potential of this technology. We believe these LDPC-based fault-tolerant architectures are the key to making useful quantum computing practical - with far less overhead and much sooner than otherwise possible. We're thrilled to take the first step toward realising that with this round and our partnership with PsiQuantum."