Delivering quantum computing technology to the world

Following decades of quantum computing research at UNSW, Diraq, a start-up founded by Professor Andrew Dzurak, is set to create the world’s first commercially valuable quantum computer. The minds behind Diraq are focused on ensuring their silicon-chip based technology leads to commercially valuable machines designed to impact every industry throughout the globe. “It’s world-changing technology,” says Prof. Dzurak. “And it’s extremely exciting.”

Diraq Opens New Commercial Laboratory (Sydney) to Propel Era of Fault Tolerant Quantum Computing.

What sets Diraq apart is the use of existing chip fabrication technology. It enables full integration in small chipsets in a single, stable and compact system. Using modified transistors, similar to ones found in conventional computers, Diraq’s qubits can be built to scale in factories already making regular silicon chips. They’re cost efficient, energy efficient, and more powerful than its competitors.

Manufacturing through standard chip foundries

Although simpler quantum computers with thousands of qubits are capable of running a number of algorithms, Diraq’s silicon-based technology has the ability to drive qubit numbers into the billions, which is what’s needed to realise quantum computing's major economic potential.

Already, Diraq has started collaborating with numerous global factories. “The inflection point for us is moving out of the research lab and getting these chips made in foundries because you can make many millions of transistors on a square centimetre of silicon,” says Prof. Dzurak.

Current partners include imec, a massive, multi-billion dollar semiconductor fabrication facility and R&D innovation centre located in Belgium. “We’ve partnered with them and demonstrated that when we make qubits following our recipes, they work extremely well,” he adds. The team is also working closely with Global Foundries, which is headquartered out of the United States. “We’ve recently designed a chip that GF are now manufacturing that will come back to us for testing before the end of the year.”

Where it all began

Prof. Dzurak has been at UNSW for more than three decades. He started as a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Physics, looking at fundamental quantum and semiconductor device research and eventually moved from Science to Engineering. “In the 90s, we set-up a chip making facility for research and development on campus, which was joint between the two schools, so it was very natural that I moved across to engineering,” he says.

During this time, Prof. Dzurak and his team were focused on single atom qubits, culminating in the release of three Nature papers in a row in 2010, 2012 and 2013, which proved it was possible to make quantum bits out of single atoms in silicon. “At the time – my colleague, Prof. Andrea Morello led those experiments and he’s been the absolute world leader in that single qubit technology,” says Prof. Dzurak. “And while I’d spent over a decade developing that technology, recruiting Andrea and getting the program underway.

"I began to challenge the approach I’d been taking, and realised there was a better pathway to manufacture quantum bits at scale.”

Inside one of Diraq’s cryogenic refrigerators, designed to reach extremely low temperatures - such as 1 Kelvin - colder than space! The low temperatures are necessary for the stable operation of qubits and to preserve their delicate quantum states. Credit: P.Henderson-Kelly.

Prof. Andrew Dzurak and team Diraq holding a silicon wafer made at imec, containing hundreds of silicon ‘chips’, each with multiple silicon qubit devices. From left to right: Wee Han Lim, Fay Hudson, Chris Escott, Nard Dumoulin-Stuyck, Andrew Dzurak, Will Gilbert, Santiago Serrano and MengKe Feng Credit: P.Henderson-Kelly.

A new way forward

Placing his focus on the use of silicon and electron spins, Prof. Dzurak explored the most advanced technology on the planet – silicon integrated circuit technology. “It’s mankind’s greatest technological achievement by a mile – well beyond going to the moon.”

This enabled him to create a scalable engineering path for the billions of qubits needed for a quantum computer that can be used for commercially valuable applications, such as the design of new pharmaceuticals, development of reduced energy manufacturing, financial modelling and logistics. In 2014, this research took on new life when Prof. Dzurak’s team were able to prove they could make a quantum bit with this silicon technology. Recognising the commercial potential, Prof. Dzurak patented it immediately. “I realised I could make a valuable company out of this and while it’s been a very long journey from idea to launching Diraq, I was finally able to do so in 2022.”

A Global Company

Following initial venture capital funding, the company raised more than 20 million dollars, which enabled Prof. Dzurak to purchase the intellectual property. “It gave us a significant team and allowed us to remain on campus and access the world-class laboratories that I’d established over the previous two decades,” he adds.

In 2024, a second round of funding helped Diraq grow their staff numbers once again.

“We’re spread across three buildings at UNSW within the Faculty of Engineering, and we’ve now established a subsidiary in the US, with a design lab in Silicon Valley opening early next year.”

Bringing designer molecules to life

What makes the creation of a commercially viable quantum computer so important is its ability to predict problems relating to how the body and nature itself works. “Molecules, the things that are our makeup, are quantum mechanical systems,” explains Prof. Dzurak. “Calculating the exact mathematics of how these molecules fit together and interact in a biological system is a problem that is computationally impossible using existing computers – however, quantum computers will allow us to design new molecules with targeted desirable properties.”

Some of the team in the Diraq lab on campus at UNSW. Left to right: Tuomo Tanttu, Alexandra Dickie and Fay Hudson. Credit P.Henderson-Kelly.

This may include creating aircraft where the materials used are 50% lighter but just a strong or ships or planes made of steel where you can use a material that protects them against rusting. “You might even have a new virus that needs an antidote, and instead of taking 3-6 months and costing a billion dollars or more, we can solve this in a week,” says Prof Dzurak. “We might even be able to create carbon-attracting molecules that can suck the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and help to reverse climate change.”

Industries that will be significant users of quantum computing include but are not limited to the pharmaceutical industry, transport, manufacturing and even the financial industry. “There’s a lot of work looking at using quantum computers to optimise financial portfolios so banks, finance companies and insurance companies are all interested… it’s very wide in its applications and the ultimate value to consumers could be in the trillions of dollars.”

Although Prof. Dzurak has dedicated a lot of time and focus to building Diraq and scaling the business, he remains committed to the breakthrough innovation that the research and development is driving. “I believe our tech is by far the best but nevertheless it remains incredibly challenging,” he says. “The responsibility to get it right and make it work is enormous.”

Despite the significant challenge ahead, he understands the impact and importance of this work. “I’d be very happy if on my gravestone it said – ‘Andrew Dzurak, one of the developers of quantum computing who changed the world. That’s enough of a motivation.”

Hero image: Diraq engineer Nard Dumoulin-Stuyck holding a Diraq chip. Credit: P.Henderson-Kelly.