Australia led the developed world in quantum computing investment by government over the four years to 2024, with its public spending surpassing every other OECD nation, an international report reveals.

Credit: InnovationAus

At 80 per cent of Australia’s total quantum investment, it was the largest commitment by any leading OECD investor country.

Much of this can be traced back to the $940 million stake in PsiQuantum, the Silicon Valley-based company founded by Australians Jeremy O’Brien and Terry Rudolph that hopes to build the world’s first fault-tolerant quantum computer.

“Australia’s remarkable increase in the recent period stems from large investment in PsiQuantum by investors based in that country,” the report said, referring to the 2024 deal.

The Netherlands was another top OECD investor from 2021 to 2024, stumping up more than US$500 million. This represented a 70 per cent share of the country’s total investment in quantum.

“Australia, Germany and the Netherlands saw the largest increases in government funding over the two periods,” the report said.

“By comparison, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have lower shares of government funding, even though all three countries increased the government support.”

Australian government also topped investment by OECD nations in the four years to 2021, narrowly beating Canada. Although, at that time, it represented around 40 per cent, with the private sector accounting for the remainder.

Overall, the report said the “share of government funding has increased over time, reaching over 20 per cent in recent years”, noting that this was driven higher by investment in PsiQuantum and Quantum Delta by Australia and the Netherlands, respectively.

Overweight in late stage investments

Australia’s massive 2024 investment in PsiQuantum also means it is now the only top-eight investing nation to have sent the majority of its quantum funding overseas between 2016 and 2024.

“In general, within-country investments… are much higher than cross-country investments. The only exception to this pattern is Australian investment in US companies (linked to PsiQuantum),” the report said.

Other OCED countries – the United States, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands – and China directed US$506 million to US-based quantum firms since 2016.

US investors are also “considerably active in Canada”, providing US$687 million and more than Canada provides domestically. The UK also received US$141 million from US investors over the eight-year period, while Australia scored US$83 million.

The report also shows Australia is an outlier in the type of investment it provides, with around 80 per cent of its funding directed towards late stage companies between 2021 and 2024.

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