Australia’s Chief Scientist Cathy Foley said the decision to invest $1 billion of taxpayer funds in PsiQuantum was made after assessments showed it was “a country mile ahead” in the global race to build a functioning quantum computer.

Dr Foley, who was the government’s technical adviser on the investment, said that – after initially fearing that PsiQuantum’s claims were “dodgy” back in 2022 – the government had been convinced over a two-year assessment. This included an expression of interest process with other firms, that showed they were lagging their US-based rival.