Silicon Quantum Computing takes largest slice of federal quantum funding
Silicon Quantum Computing landed $3.6 million in federal government grants, the largest portion of a $12.3 million funding package split between six Australian quantum startups.
The Sydney-based quantum hardware company will use the funding to expand its partnership with Schneider Electric and UNSW, applying quantum-enhanced AI to energy forecasting and renewable electricity management.
SQC's Watermelon quantum-enhanced AI processor showed a 20% average improvement in next-day energy forecast accuracy during initial testing, with gains reaching 41% in some cases. The next phase will scale modelling to hundreds of Australian homes and integrate into Schneider Electric's commercial AI workflows.
For context: SQC closed a $50.4 million Series A in July 2023 at a $195.3 million valuation, backed by the Commonwealth Government, CBA, Telstra and UNSW. In 2026, the National Reconstruction Fund invested $20 million in March, then added another $40 million in June. The company has been building out its commercial team: Brett Freeman joined as COO and Matthew Bradley as VP of corporate development in 2026. Former Arm CEO Simon Segars chairs the board.
Adelaide's QuantX Labs secured $2.2 million to develop quantum clocks for electricity network synchronisation. The quantum sensing startup previously landed $2.7 million in Defence contracts for optical atomic clocks in 2024, following $1 million from SmartSat.
What this means for sales professionals
Quantum hardware companies are transitioning from pure research to commercial deployment, which typically means scaling go-to-market teams. SQC's focus on enterprise energy customers (Schneider Electric partnership) and its recent COO and VP corporate development hires suggest the company is building out commercial and sales infrastructure.
The quantum computing sector in Australia is heavily grant and government-backed, which affects sales cycles: longer enterprise deals, government procurement processes, and technical sales requiring deep domain expertise. Comp structures in quantum hardware typically skew toward base salary given longer sales cycles, though equity can be meaningful given the capital backing these companies attract.
Worth noting: quantum computing sales roles remain niche in ANZ. Most hiring in the sector is still engineering-focused, with commercial roles typically requiring technical backgrounds and patience with 12-18 month enterprise sales cycles.