About
Q-CTRL is an Australian quantum control software company founded in 2017 as a spinout of the University of Sydney by Michael Biercuk. It is based in Sydney with offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. The company makes Black Opal for quantum education, Fire Opal for quantum error suppression middleware, and Boulder Opal for quantum control R&D. Fire Opal delivers hardware-agnostic algorithmic error suppression, improving circuit performance on IBM, IonQ, and other hardware by up to 10,000 times. Q-CTRL also develops quantum-enhanced sensing algorithms for defense and navigation. It raised $113M in a Series B in 2024 to scale its quantum firmware and quantum sensing products. In February 2026, Q-CTRL launched Ironstone Opal, the first commercially available quantum navigation system for defense and aerospace, validated in air, land, and maritime trials, achieving a 100x improvement in GPS-denied navigation precision. The Boulder Opal platform is part of the Quantum Utility Block architecture with QuantWare and Qblox for push-button data center quantum computers. In August 2025, DARPA awarded Q-CTRL $24.4M, or A$38M, under its Robust Quantum Sensors program for the Ironstone Opal quantum navigation system, which demonstrated 111 times greater accuracy than high-end inertial navigation in GPS-denied conditions. Lockheed Martin is a named subcontractor, and the sensors are being deployed for Australian Defence and AUKUS partners. In March 2025, the US Defense Innovation Unit selected Q-CTRL for prototype development of Ironstone Opal. Validated trials include the Royal Australian Navy's MV Sycamore, and the company has partnered with ANELLO Photonics for GPS-denied environments. In February 2025, Q-CTRL received a £1M SBRI Quantum Catalyst Fund grant to optimize UK rail scheduling with Network Rail, demonstrating routing of 26 trains over 18 minutes using 103 qubits at a major London hub. Q-CTRL won TIME Magazine's Best Innovation of the Year award in 2025, and in April
Quantum Specifications
| Qubit Technology | Software |
| Error Correction | Quantum-control |
| Quantum Focus | software |
Key People
Funding History
Backed By
Research Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
Related News
Anyon Technologies and Q-CTRL Deliver Modular, Self-Calibrating Hybrid Quantum Supercomputers for Enterprise Data Centers
Q-CTRL Framework Outlines Path to Quantum Battlefield Information Dominance Across Four Defense Verticals
Q-CTRL Defines The Path to Quantum Battlefield Information Dominance for Core Military Problems in Promising New Outlook
Stop waiting for practical quantum computers, says Q-CTRL CEO – they’re already here - SiliconANGLE
Q-CTRL Achieves 3,000x Speedup in Quantum Materials Simulation - Quantum Computing Report
