February
PsiQuantum confident it has the fastest track in quantum race
Government-backed PsiQuantum powers ahead with plans to build a data centre-sized quantum computer, as Queensland treasurer reviews investment in the company.
Microsoft’s ‘Goldilocks’ particles could win the quantum computer race
Microsoft has taken 17 years to create a new subatomic particle with the right blend of size, speed and stability for quantum computing, in a threat to Aussie rivals.
Labor is throwing money at quantum but drowning AI in regulation
The unanswered question is how can any country effectively regulate a fast-changing emergent technology and expect to be competitive in the global digital economy.
December 2024
Google announces quantum computing breakthrough. Should we be excited?
Google has built a quantum processor called “Willow” that can solve a problem in five minutes that regular supercomputers would take longer than the lifetime of the universe.
November 2024
Albanese tells Queensland to stick with $1b quantum deal
New Premier David Crisafulli is reviewing the deal with US-based start-up PsiQuantum and says speculation about its future is premature.
October 2024
‘High risk, high return’: Chief scientist sceptical on $1b quantum deal
Internal government documents show Cathy Foley took months to be convinced US-based company PsiQuantum could deliver a super computer in Australia this decade.
September 2024
PwC’s moral dissonance clear to all
Readers’ letters on PwC’s behaviour; the value of mining; attacks on Hezbollah; antisemitism at Sydney University; quantum computing; bank cashbacks; and AI costing CBA jobs.
Kamala Harris’ potential defence chief backs Labor supercomputer deal
Michèle Flournoy, a possible Pentagon boss, says quantum computing will be like the nuclear bomb in how it will reshape the China v USA narrative this century.
Aussie cyber firm goes it alone with US expansion
Trent Telford is on a high after his firm Cocoon Data scored a Google deal and made progress cracking the US market, but he says it’s no thanks to the Australian government.
August 2024
Coalition claims ‘$1 billion captain’s pick’ as PsiQuantum answers emerge
New information reveals the Commonwealth engaged in a lengthy due diligence process before making a $1 billion bet on PsiQuantum.
July 2024
Expert department ‘not party’ to PsiQuantum deal
Persistent criticism of the nearly $1 billion investment in PsiQuantum was again levelled at ministers and bureaucrats this week.
PsiQuantum promises US a computer after $US500m investment
Three months after inking almost $1 billion worth of deals with the federal and Qld governments, the tech start-up has signed up to build another quantum computer in Chicago.
June 2024
PsiQuantum backer Playground Global back in town looking for cash
The Palo Alto-headquartered, Australian co-founded, investor has already secured government backing for its quantum bet. Now it is fundraising for a new fund.
Cashed-up Diraq says it can win the quantum computing race
It hasn’t got as much money as government-backed PsiQuantum, but the UNSW start-up says it makes up for that in qubit size, as it banks a big funding round.
Government’s $189.5m quantum computing VC investment revealed
Previously secret details behind the mammoth investment in US-based quantum computing firm PsiQuantum have been uncovered, including the government’s equity investment.
May 2024
Where have all the good managers gone?
Readers’ letters on Australia’s dearth of quality managers; a tax system fit for AI; skilled migrants driving Ubers; a proportionate response in Gaza; why live exports matter; and worry over climate change.
Rafah strike will be Netanyahu’s undoing
Readers’ letters on horrific scenes in Rafah; The AFR View on ICC indictments; Labor’s equivocating over Gaza; the key to useful airport links; and what’s really behind the $1 billion grant for PsiQuantum.
The real reason for spending $1b on PsiQuantum
Defence planners have long worried how vulnerable military information systems are to GPS being taken out by an adversary.
PsiQuantum deal will cost almost $30m just to check it works
But most of the details of the government’s marquee bet on the potentially powerful technology have been kept secret in the budget.
UK’s bet on PsiQuantum is one-fiftieth the size of Australia’s
Leading British quantum computing specialists have expressed surprise at the Albanese government’s decision to invest nearly $1 billion in backing the start-up.